Investigative Committee officers came with a search to Vladimir Kekhman, the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg and the general director of the Moscow Art Theatre named after Gorky. Investigative actions took place at Kekhman's home in the Moscow region, he had just returned from abroad. After the search, Kekhman was taken to the Investigative Committee.
According to TASS, citing sources, searches are also being conducted at the Moscow Art Theatre. As reported by the correspondent of "Caution, news", the main entrance of the theater is closed, the service entrance is blocked by OMON fighters. Theater staff and security forces are in the building, and Rosgvardia vehicles are on duty nearby. The reason for the investigative activities is not being disclosed to the staff.
Kekhman currently has no procedural status, TASS clarifies.
"Izvestia" writes that the searches are related to a case of embezzlement of funds allocated for the reconstruction of the Moscow theater. According to the channel "112", Kekhman is involved in the case as a witness. He has held the position of general director of the Moscow Art Theatre named after Gorky since October 2021. Before that, the theater was led by Tatyana Doronina.
The reconstruction of the Moscow Art Theatre named after Gorky began in 2022. The stage was planned to open in October this year.
Vladimir Kekhman is a former "banana king", ex-owner of the banana importer JFC, which controlled a third of the Russian market in the early 2000s.
Before being appointed director of the Moscow Art Theatre, Kekhman combined the positions of general director and artistic director of the Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. From 2007 to 2015, he led the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, as noted by The Bell*, he was appointed there by Valentina Matvienko during her tenure as governor. He remains the artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre to this day.
If charges are brought, this case will be far from the first in Kekhman's career. In 2017, after five years of investigation, the case of credit theft from several banks led by Sberbank for 20.2 billion rubles was reclassified and closed due to the statute of limitations. Kekhman was declared bankrupt in the UK in 2012, and in 2016 in Russia. He owed Sberbank alone 4.3 billion rubles. However, in 2018, the High Court of London found Kekhman guilty of fraud in a lawsuit by another bank, the Bank of Moscow, The Bell clarifies.
* Recognized as a "foreign agent" in Russia.
Photo: TASS