Search under way at Skolkovo Foundation - Investigative Committee
MOSCOW. April 18 (Interfax) - The Russian Investigative Committee press service has confirmed that a search is under way now at the Skolkovo Foundation as part of an investigation into misappropriation of budget funds allotted to the foundation.
"Investigators are seizing documents and objects that are important for the investigation," an Investigative Committee spokesperson told Interfax on Thursday.
The Investigative Committee reported on February 12 that it opened a criminal case into the embezzlement of nearly 24 million rubles allocated from the budget for the Skolkovo innovation center's development. Figuring into the case as suspects are, in particular, Kirill Lugovtsev, the director of the Skolkovo Foundation's financial department, and Vladimir Khokhlov, the general director of the Skolkovo Customs and Financial Company.
The Investigative Committee believes that the budget appropriations were spent on renting an office for the Skolkovo Customs and Financial Company from a company belonging to Lugovtsev's parents. The agreement stipulated a down payment for the three-year rent without refund rights in the case of the agreement's repeal.
Skolkovo Foundation President Viktor Vekselberg said at the time that the money in question had already been returned to the foundation.
Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on February 28 that the investigation was studying information it received from the Federal Security Service (FSB) on misappropriation by the Skolkovo Foundation of 3.5 billion rubles allotted for the innovation center's development, which was deposited into Metkombank affiliated with Vekselberg.