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In case of consent from State Duma, Investigative Committee to initiate proceedings against Deputy Ponomaryov

The Main Investigations Directorate of the Russia’s Investigative Committee continues a probe against Development and Commercialization Senior Vice President of non-commercial organization the Development Fund of the Center for Development and Commercialization of New Technologies (hearinafter – Skolkovo) Alexey Beltyukov accused of a crime under part 4 of article 160 of the RF Penal Code – embezzlement of Skolkovo funds with complicity of State Duma Deputy Ilya Ponomaryov for the benefit of the latter.

According to the information the Investigative Committee has, in 2010, Skolkovo and Ponomaryov signed a contract on research activity worth 750 thousand USD. Under the contract Ponomaryov had to make his researches in several stages, make analytical reports and receive reviews from international scientific organizations. Later, apparently, in order to make it impossible to control the progress of researches, Skolkovo Vice President Beltyukov signed with Ponomaryov an additional agreement bringing down the cost of the contract to 450 thousand USD, but in fact cancelled the reports that should have been made on each stage of the research. This way, investigators believe, they created conditions for stealing Skolkovo money for Ponomaryov. To legalize the pay of 450 thousand USD Beltyukov made two reports, which were of no scientific value whatsoever and did not follow the requirements specification, and filed them in fund expenditure documents.

In order to draw the remaining 300 thousand USD, Beltyukov and Ponomaryov concluded another contract under which the State Duma Deputy had to give a number of lectures and seminars on: Commercialization of New Technologies. Sometime later Ponomaryov really filed with Skolkovo documents confirming that he had given those lectures. But when investigators started to figure out what the lectures really were like, each of which cost 30 thousand USD on the average, it turned out that they had been short speeches between 3 and 18 minute-long not connected with the stated subject. However, the reports stated that they were full-time lectures. This way, according to the investigators, Ponomaryov was Beltyukov’s accomplice in embezzling 22 million rubles of Skolkovo money. So whatever Deputy (for the present) Ponomaryov claims, this is a plain felony, punishable in any civilized country. In the Russian Penal Code it refers to article 160 and qualifies as embezzlement of the assets entrusted, in which, the investigators have revealed, Ponomaryov took most active part.

Under the Russian laws the decision to open a criminal investigation against a State Duma Deputy can be made by consent of the State Duma. Therefore, the Prosecutor General has filed a corresponding request with the State Duma. If the State Duma gives its consent, the Russia’s Investigative Committee will start proceedings.

Head of Media Relations                                                                                                                                V.I. Markin