Only Russian MP to vote against annexing Crimea now faces criminal prosecution

The only Russian Duma deputy to vote against the annexation of Crimea, Ilya Ponomarev, was stripped of his parliamentary immunity today. 438 Duma deputies voted in favor of removing his immunity from criminal prosecution, with one vote against the measure and one vote in abstention. 

Formally, Ponomarev is part of the "A Just Russia" faction, the leadership of which has repeatedly asked him to surrender his seat in the parliament.

Russia’s Attorney General asked the Duma to remove Ponomarev’s parliamentary immunity in order to investigate him for supposedly embezzling funds from the Skolkovo Innovation Center, a state-supported high-tech business center outside Moscow that contracted Ponomarev to oversee various research projects and give a series of lectures.

Federal investigators intend to prosecute Ponomarev for colluding in the embezzlement of 22 million rubles (roughly $400,000 by today’s exchange rate). Investigators also say Ponomarev gave false reports about his work at Skolkovo.

Ilya Ponomarev currently resides in the United States. In August 2013, a court ruled that he owed 2.7 million rubles (about $50,000) in unpaid taxes.