Russian Central Banker Assassinated

(Moscow) There was a high-profile attack on Russia's financial credibility yesterday.

From MOSNEWS.com:

The first deputy chairman of Russia's central bank died in hospital on Thursday, hours after gunmen with automatic weapons attacked him outside a Moscow sports stadium and killed his driver, officials said. Andrei Kozlov, 41, a high-profile figure in Russian finance who was in charge of cleaning up the murky and fragmented banking system, had undergone emergency surgery overnight for serious gunshot wounds to his chest and head.

Kozlov died early this morning.

Officials stated that Kozlov's murder had the earmarks of a contract killing. Presumably, his aggressive campaign against corruption made him a target for murder by organized criminal elements.