Azerbaijani authorities look for a banker

The authorities in Azerbaijan have launched a criminal investigation into the disappearance of a banker who's alleged to have fled the country with a large sum of cash.

The Prosecutor General Eldar Gasanov was quoted as saying that the banker, Bashir Gardzhiyev, was not in the republic and was suspected of embezzling state property.

Local newspapers reported that Mr Gardzhiyev's bank handled the finance and defence ministries' accounts, and an audit check revealed that hundreds of thousands of dollars were missing from the accounts.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service