The expert commented on the course of the investigation in the Kekhman case.

The transfer of the director of the Moscow Art Theater and the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater, Vladimir Kekhman, from the status of a witness to the status of an accused in the embezzlement case may indicate that the investigation has established at least a preliminary scheme of action in which he could play an active role, says Ekaterina Kosareva, managing partner of the analytical agency VMT Consult.

Fatal scene: will the head of the Moscow Art Theater, Kekhman, become involved in the embezzlement case

Those guilty of embezzling funds for the reconstruction of the theater face up to ten years in prison.

For example, she suggested, Kekhman could have authorized the financing of dubious contracts or participated in overstating estimates and signing fictitious acts of completed work.

"The use of this particular part of the article indicates that the amount of damage caused, according to investigators, exceeds 1 million rubles and has signs of a systemic pattern," the expert explained to Izvestia.

According to Izvestia's sources, the case file shows an excess of the estimated cost of at least three contracts. According to Kosareva, this is a typical scheme that is well known to investigative authorities in cases involving state funding in the field of culture.

"Its essence lies in overestimating the cost of reconstruction, repair or equipping cultural institutions. The general contractor may transfer the performance of work to subcontractors, while the actual volume and cost of services differ from the acts issued in official reports. Often, the work is either not performed in full, or it is paid at inflated prices, or it includes items that were not actually supplied," she explained.

Read more in the exclusive Izvestia article:

Stage vacation: the head of the Moscow Art Theater Vladimir Kekhman was charged