Russian Deputy Finance Minister charged with embezzlement

Prosecutors charged Russian Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak on Friday with attempting to embezzle $43 million in budget funds, his lawyers said.Storchak, who is responsible for foreign debt negotiations and oversees Russia’s $148 billion budget stabilization fund, was arrested last week.

His lawyers, Alexander Petrov and Igor Pastukhov, said after a hearing at Moscow’s Lefortovo prison that Storchak had admitted no wrongdoing.