Andrei Kozlov, 41, who oversaw bank licensing and led efforts to shut down dozens of banks for money laundering and other illegal operations, was gunned down in a contract-style killing on September 13 this year, and died in hospital the following day.
Viktor Gerashchenko, who headed the CBR in 1992-1994 and 1998-2002, stopped short of naming people he suspected of ordering the murder, but dismissed a reporter's suggestion that exiled Russian billionaire Boris Berezovsky could be behind the crime.
The Prosecutor General's Office said two weeks ago it had identified people involved in the organization and execution of Kozlov's murder, but revealed no names pending investigations.
Gerashchenko also said that Konstantin Shor, director of the Bank of Russia's Moscow office, seems the best candidate to replace Kozlov as head of the CBR Oversight Committee, saying the post requires a banking professional outside politics.
"The Central Bank should stay as far away from politics as possible," he said.
