Russian Governor Arrested For Suspected Embezzlement

Putin, shown here on May 10 delivering his state-of-the-nation address, has vowed to crack down on corruption (ITAR-TASS)

May 23, 2006 -- Russian authorities have arrested the governor of an oil-producing region on suspicion of embezzlement.

Alexei Barinov, governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Russia's Arctic, is accused of misappropriating around $700,000 when he was the head of a geological prospecting company.

The arrrest comes just days after President Vladimir Putin said he would crack down on corrupt officials.

(AP, Reuters)