Central Bank official gunned down

14 Sep, 2006 06:27 / Updated 18 years ago

Russian Central Bank deputy head Andrei Kozlov has been assassinated. He was shot alongside his driver in a street in eastern Moscow.

The driver died at the scene and the banker was taken to hospital where surgery failed to save him. Police are hunting two gunmen who fled. Kozlov's work in seeking to clean up the Russian banking system is thought a possible motive behind the killing. Government ministers observed a minute’s silence ahead of their meeting.