Court bounces fraud case against Russian director Serebrennikov, lifts travel ban

Embezzlement charges against acclaimed Russian stage director Kirill Serebrennikov have been returned to prosecutors by a Moscow court, a significant step toward the possible dismissal of a case that has stalled for two years.

A Moscow district court sent the case back to prosecutors on Wednesday, over “mistakes” in their indictment, and also withdrew outstanding travel restrictions on Serebrennikov and his co-defendants. Prosecutors have 10 days to appeal the decision.

An influential Russian film and stage director who heads up Moscow’s Gogol Center, Serebrennikov was taken into custody in August 2017 on charges that he’d used a state-funded theater program to defraud the government of some 133 million rubles ($2 million). While the renowned theater devotee was freed from over a year of house arrest in April, his bail terms still imposed restrictions on travel.

Serebrennikov has protested his innocence since his arrest, telling a court in 2017 “I am an honest man,” and “I have nothing apart from Russia and work in Russian culture.”

A number of Russian and foreign celebrities, including Hollywood actress Cate Blanchett, have called for the charges against the director and his co-defendants to be dropped.

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