Russia's Finance Minister wants to meet his arrested deputy

Russia's Finance Minister Aleksey Kudrin is seeking a meeting with his deputy, Sergey Storchak, who's facing corruption charges. But for now one of Russia's top financial professionals remains in custody.

Storchak was charged with conspiring to embezzle $US 43 million of state funds and is facing an ongoing investigation into his affairs.

“I need to meet him and I've filed an urgent request. When he was arrested he had documents with him that are necessary for some of our negotiations with foreign partners. All the documents were confiscated. So delaying my meeting with him could start having a negative effect on the negotiation process,” Kudrin said.

But the Federal Penitentiary Service says any meeting with Storchak will be possible only at the consent of the investigators.

Storchak was arrested earlier this month as he prepared to fly overseas for a meeting on foreign debt repayment – his key focus at the Finance Ministry.

Charges followed a week later. On December 3, a Moscow Court will rule on the legality of Storchak's arrest. But for now, he remains in custody. If he is released there's a risk he'd avoid investigation and destroy evidence, says Russia's Prosecutor General.