Skolkovo officials suspected of embezzling $800,000

14:34, 12 February 2013

MOSCOW. February 12. KAZINFORM Two high-ranking Skolkovo officials are suspected of embezzling 24 million rubles (about $800,000), Investigative Committee spokesman Vladimir Markin said on Tuesday, according to RIA Novosti.

"A criminal case was launched against the head of the financial department of the Foundation for the Development of the Center of Development and Commercialization of High Technologies [the Skolkovo Foundation], Kirill Lugovtsev, the head of the Skolkovo Innovation Centre Customs Finance Company [TFK Skolkovo, a subsidiary of the Skolkovo Foundation], Vladimir Khokhlov, and other individuals," the spokesman said in a statement.

Lugovtsev is suspected of renting a building to house the TFK Skolkovo headquarters from a company owned by his parents.

"The rental contract envisaged a three-year non-refundable advance payment. Khokhlov and Lugovtsev have also agreed to pay for the building's extensive renovation," Markin said.

TFK Skolkovo was established in 2011 with a purpose to provide to customs representative's services to participants of the Skolkovo project.

Investigators also suspect that TFK Skolkovo, which employed a dozen of people with a monthly salary ranging between 300,000 and 600,000 rubles ($10,000-$20,000), has completed only one customs procedure during its two-year existence.

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