The court arrested the Deputy Minister of Culture

The Lefortovo Court of Moscow has arrested Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia Grigory Pirumov until May 10, reports . Interfax

Pirumov himself pleaded not guilty. “The characteristic signed by the minister says that I have done quite a lot, and that I am not capable of committing illegal actions,” Interfax quotes him.

The court also arrested Oleg Ivanov, the head of the Tsentrrestavratsiya institution subordinate to the ministry, and Boris Mazo, director of the property management department of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

was arrested Earlier , the director of the BaltStroy company, Dmitry Sergeev, , suspected of embezzling budget funds for the restoration of cultural heritage sites. Sergeev pleaded not guilty and asked for a milder measure of restraint against him.

The detention of Pirumov in Rostov-on-Don by the FSB became known the day before. On Tuesday, March 15, was also detained Boris Mazo . Searches took place in all departments of the Ministry of Culture, law enforcement officers seized documents related to construction and restoration work.

The FSB opened a criminal case against senior officials of the Ministry of Culture in connection with suspicion of embezzlement of money for the restoration of cultural heritage sites.

It is still unknown which objects are being restored, but Baltstroy is one of the largest restoration companies in Russia, which is engaged in work on cultural heritage sites from the UNESCO list. Among her projects are the restoration of the walls of the Moscow Kremlin, work in the Grand Palace and the Palace of Facets, the Moscow Conservatory.