Former Russian banker German Gorbuntsov critical after shooting

A former Russian banker is in a critical condition in hospital after he was shot several times in east London.

German Gorbuntsov was shot by a man armed with a sub-machine gun as he entered a block of flats in Byng Street, Isle of Dogs, on Tuesday.

The Metropolitan Police are treating the shooting as attempted murder.

The suspect is a white male who ran off along Westferry Road. Mr Gorbuntsov is said to be critical but stable and is being kept under armed guard.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police, who have not officially confirmed Mr Gorbuntsov's identity, said detectives from the Trident Gang Crime Command were dealing with the incident which happened at about 19:30 GMT.

"This is sitting with Trident which investigates gang-related shootings," he said.

Mr Gorbuntsov, who is in his 40s, previously owned banks in Russia and Moldova, according to Russian media.

He was returning to his home when the attacker opened fire, the Russian Kommersant newspaper has reported.

Scotland Yard declined to reveal where Mr Gorbuntsov was being treated. No arrests have been made.

There has been speculation in the Russian press that Mr Gorbuntsov was a witness to a murder attempt on another Russian banker, Alexander Antonov, in Moscow in 2009.

Scotland Yard said it was "too early to speculate" on such reports.

The BBC's security correspondent Gordon Corera said: "Although at this stage the motive for this attack remains unclear, the concern will be that the type of violence long associated with business and organised crime in Russia might have arrived on the streets of London."