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Moscow court sanctions arrest in absentia of embezzlement suspected opposition lawmaker

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MOSCOW, July 17. /TASS/. Moscow’s Basmanny court has arrested in absentia State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev who is accused of complicity in embezzling 22 million rubles (around $387,200) received from the Skolkovo Foundation, a TASS correspondent reported on Friday.

In April 2013, the Skolkovo Foundation filed a lawsuit against Ponomarev, who was formally a member of A Just Russia Party’s caucus in the State Duma. The lawsuit followed his refusal to file a financial report on the lectures, which he was support to give under a contract with the foundation and which he received $750,000 for.

Ponomarev said in a telephone interview with TASS last September he was staying abroad but he was ready to return unless the authorities imposed foreign travel restrictions on him. At the time of the conversation, he had plans to stay in Asian countries and to go to the US.

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