Skolkovo Boss Denies Financing Opposition

The president of Russia's Skolkovo Foundation, billionaire businessman Viktor Vekselberg, denied on Wednesday earlier allegations that the foundation funded the political opposition. Russian investigators opened a criminal case last month against Alexei Beltyukov, the foundation’s vice president, over suspicions he illegally paid $750,000 to opposition lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov, ostensibly for a series of lectures and research projects. “No, [Skolkovo] is in no way involved,” Vekselberg said at a news conference. Both Ponomaryov and Beltyukov have denied any wrongdoing. Beltyukov was suspended from his post earlier this month. The Skolkovo Foundation which manages the eponymous high-tech hub, is a pet project of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and was opened during his presidency in 2010.

http://en.ria.ru/russia/20130515/181163244/Russian-Tech-Hub-Boss-Denies-it-Financed-Opposition.html