A bank robber has been arrested by Russian police who found him hiding out in the Urals with 230 million rubles ($7.3 million) in stolen cash, local police said on Wednesday.

Alexander Shurman carried out the robbery, one of Russia`s largest, in the Perm territory on Thursday with the help of three accomplices.

The 36-year-old was transporting cash for Sberbank, Russia`s largest bank, when he threatened to shoot the two other guards and forced them to stop their vehicle in a forest, where he transferred 250 million rubles ($8 million) to a waiting car.

Shurman was detained in a special police operation late on Tuesday. He was found in the underground hideout where he had put the money.

"Around 230 million rubles were seized and I think we will recover the rest of the money in the near future," police Lt. Gen. Yury Gorlov said.

The money was later returned to the bank, he said.

The robber`s accomplices - his wife, Yelena Shurman, her father and the car driver - were arrested by police earlier this week.

Officers seized some 9 million rubles from Yelena while her father is suspected of hiding another 1 million rubles.

The number of attacks on cash collectors and armed robberies has increased significantly in Moscow and other Russian cities lately amid the financial crisis.
sections: Society, Accidents