MOSCOW, August 26 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court has upheld the arrest in absentia of Ilya Ponomaryov, a lawmaker in the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, involved in the Skolkovo Foundation embezzlement case, RAPSI reported from the court on Wednesday.

Ponomaryov, who is living abroad, has denied the charges and has refused to return to Russia for questioning. He said that he did not trust Russian courts but would talk with investigators by telephone, via Skype or Viber, or on Facebook.

Ponomaryov has denied all charges as politically motivated.

Investigators claim that Ponomaryov assisted former Skolkovo Vice President Alexei Beltyukov in the embezzlement of over 22 million rubles (over $386,000) in foundation money. Beltyukov allegedly paid Ponomaryov $750,000 of the foundation's money, without management approval, for lectures and research projects between February 2011 and February 2012.

An investigation was launched into Beltyukov's actions to analyze the subject, the content and the academic value of the lectures that Ponomaryov was contracted to provide for 22 million rubles.

The Investigative Committee reported in May that it has opened an embezzlement case against Beltyukov.

In August 2013, Moscow's Gagarinsky District Court ruled that Ponomaryov must repay 2.7 million rubles to the Skolkovo Foundation, Russia's high-tech development center, for an unreasonably overpriced service. The Moscow City Court upheld the ruling in November.