Fraud charges
Detention
On 15 November 2007, Storchak was detained by the Russian police as a part of a criminal investigation. "The detention took place outside the ministry. It may be related to criminal cases against a third party, not finance ministry officials," the ministry said in a statement.Russian police detain deputy finance ministerCriminal investigation
In April 2009, Storchak was charged with attempted fraud, 18 months after his detention. "It may be said without exaggeration that the best finance and economy experts, including the incumbent and former finance minister deputies, were involved in a plan in recent years to embezzle large amounts of state funds," said Alexander Bastrykin, the head of the Investigation Committee at the Prosecutor's Office. If convicted, Storchak faces between five and 10 years in prison. On 31 January 2011, Russia's Investigative Committee announced that all charges had been dropped against Storchak, for lack of evidence.Reactions
Some analysts have speculated that Storchak's case may be a sign of power struggle within the Kremlin between free-market liberals like Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and conservative elements favoring a greater role for the state in the economy.Notes
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