MOSCOW, October 26 (RAPSI) – Former official of the Culture Ministry Sophia Apfelbaum has been arrested as part of the embezzlement case involving the Gogol Center theater director Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia’s Investigative Committee announced on Thursday.

Apfelbaum, who currently runs the Russian Academic Youth Theater, has abetted the embezzlement of about 68 million rubles ($1.2 million) by Serebrennikov and his alleged accomplices, the statement reads.

According to investigators, from 2011 to 2014, she signed contracts on state grants in the amount of more than 214 million rubles ($3.7 million) with Serebrennikov’s Seventh Studio stage company on behalf of the Russian Culture Ministry, and provided further agreement of received reporting documents, which contained overstated information on quantity and cost of the held events.

The guilt of Apfelbaum has been proven by evidence of witnesses, records of face-to-face confrontation, results of investigative activities, and seized financial documents, investigators claim.

Embezzlement charges would be brought against the Russian Academic Youth Theater’s director soon, the Investigative Committee said.

Serebrennikov was arrested in late August and then placed under house arrest. Investigators believe that he organized embezzlement of budget money. The defendant denied wrongdoing.

Investigators said earlier that Serebrennikov developed the Platforma project for promotion of art in 2011 and received allocated funds of 214 million rubles from the Ministry of Culture in 2011-2014.

Serebrennikov allegedly created Seventh Studio stage company to actualize the project and invited former head of the company Yury Itin, ex- general producer Alexey Malobrodsky, and former chief accountant Nina Maslyayeva, among others, into organization.

Investigators believe that Itin, Malobrodsky, and Maslyayeva were falsifying data for the Platforma project’s plans in 2011-2014 on request of the theater director. This data was provided to the Ministry of Culture as the rationale for financing from the state budget.

Earlier, Maslyayeva has testified against Serebrennikov. She said that Serebrennikov, Malobrodsky and Itin organized embezzlement of money allocated for a cultural event. Serebrennikov and Malobrodsky cashed the money with the assistance of Maslyayeva. The woman also said that she entered falsified data in financial reports.

On May 23, police raided the Gogol Center as a part of investigation into the case. Searches have been also conducted in Serebrennikov’s place of residence.