Storchak is Charged with Fraud by Sechin’s Investigative Committee

For those of us wondering how the financial crisis might impact the clan wars in Russia, today we see that the campaign against the financial liberals (Alexei Kudrin et al.) continues unabated as the former Deputy Minister of Economy Sergei Storchak has just been officially charged with fraud and abuse of office. The Moscow Times reports:

The Storchak case has been widely seen as the byproduct of a government power struggle between the so-called St. Petersburg economists, led by Finance Minster Alexei Kudrin, and the siloviki — officials within or with close ties to security and law enforcement agencies. Storchak’s lawyer, Andrei Romashov, said the final version of the charges filed did not specify a figure for the amount of funds allegedly stolen. “How can they charge him with fraud without these figures,” he said.

I wonder what happens when the procuracy actually finds itself in the position of having to file real charges for a real crime, rather than these political axe jobs.