Russian politician’s body found cemented in barrel

The body of a Russian politician has been found cemented in a barrel, and a former government official has been accused of ordering the killing over an 80 million dollar (£52 million) debt, officials say.

Mikhail Pakhomov (37) went missing last week. He was a member of the local council in Lipetsk, a city 350 kilometres (215 miles) south of Moscow.

He was last seen last Tuesday when three unidentified men pushed him into a car outside a restaurant in Lipetsk and drove away.

Russia’s Investigative Committee says several suspects were detained, and that authorities found Pakhomov’s badly beaten body in a barrel of cement in a garage.

Russian television stations aired footage provided by police that showed a fragment of a barrel, pieces of concrete and officers carrying what appeared to be Pakhomov’s body on a stretcher and loading it into a vehicle.

The Investigative Committee said Yevgeny Kharitonov is being held on suspicion of ordering the killing of Pakhomov, allegedly over the debt. Kharitonov is a former deputy minister in the Moscow region’s provincial government.