8 arrested in slaying of Russian councilman

Moscow, Feb 19 (AP) Russian investigators have now arrested eight people in the case of a city councilman found dead in a cement barrel, allegedly after he owed USD 80 million in a business deal gone awry. The Investigative Committee said today it arrested one man suspected in the murder-kidnapping of Mikhail Pakhomov and another accused of a related theft. The 37-year-old councilman in Lipetsk, 350 kilometres south of Moscow, disappeared last week after three men forced him into a car. His body was found yesterday. Evgeny Kharitonov, a former deputy minister in Moscow's provincial government, is charged with organising the kidnapping over what police called an USD 80 million debt. A warrant has been issued for his business partner. Pakhomov had a construction business before becoming a politician. (AP) KUN 02191953 NNNN