US charity official charged with embezzlement

The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has charged an official from the American Cancer Society with embezzling almost seven million dollars of the charity's money.

The official, Dan Wiant, who was in charge of finance in Ohio state, disappeared several days ago.

In a note which he left for his wife, he said he had settled their debts with money from the American Cancer Society, and would not be returning.

He's accused of diverting the money to an off-shore account in Austria without authorisation.

The charity said the money had been raised by volunteers to support cancer research.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service