In a meeting with Russian bloggers yesterday, Viktor Vekselberg, president of the Skolkovo Foundation, pledged to “lynch bribers” on the future innovation hub’s territory should any instance of corruption be discovered, reported Vedomosti, a Russian business daily.
“We have no corruption. We are transparent,” replied Veksleberg to a blogger who had asked him why Alexey Navalny, a prominent Russian anticorruption blogger, had not been invited to the meeting.
Announced in 2010, the Skolkovo project aims to develop Russia’s leading technology and innovation hub. Built on the premise of President Medvedev’s priorities for economic development and modernization, the project is focused on areas in information and communication technology as well as biotech, energy and nuclear technology.
The project is being managed and financed by a consortium of public and private organizations in Russia. According to Skolkovo city manager Viktor Maslakov, the construction of the center will take 5 years and require investments of up to 120 billion rubles ($4.26 billion), reported RIA Novosti.
A source in a leading western consultancy indicated to EWDN that it had been hired to develop efficient anti-corruption mechanisms for the construction and management of the hub.
