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The renovation of the famed opera and ballet venue has drawn criticism for delays and cost overruns, but Monday's announcement marked the first time that it had become the centre of a criminal investigation.
Investigators are focussing on irregularities in the relationship between the state body overseeing the renovation and a private contractor called Kurortproekt, the statement said.
The state body -- called the board for construction, reconstruction and renovation -- contracted to pay Kurortproekt 164 million rubles (5.3 million dollars, 3.7 million euros) to develop blueprints for the renovation.
However, between 2003 and 2009 the contractor received a series of payments totalling 958 million rubles (31.2 million dollars, 21.4 million euros), more than five times the contracted amount, the statement said.
The statement did not name any individuals under suspicion and did not give the total amount of money that investigators believed was embezzled.
Bolshoi spokeswoman Yekaterina Novikova denied that the theatre itself could be targeted in the probe.
"The Bolshoi Theatre has practically no relation to issues of reconstruction and restoration," she told Echo of Moscow radio.
Located near Red Square, the Bolshoi's historic main stage closed in 2005 for a 700-million-dollar renovation that was due to be finished in 2008, but the end date was later pushed back to 2009 and then to 2011.
The Bolshoi stage, built between 1821 and 1825, had long been in need of major repairs when it closed, with visible cracks on the facade and performers hampered by a lack of backstage space.
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Investigators are focussing on irregularities in the relationship between the state body overseeing the renovation and a private contractor called Kurortproekt, the statement said.
The state body -- called the board for construction, reconstruction and renovation -- contracted to pay Kurortproekt 164 million rubles (5.3 million dollars, 3.7 million euros) to develop blueprints for the renovation.
However, between 2003 and 2009 the contractor received a series of payments totalling 958 million rubles (31.2 million dollars, 21.4 million euros), more than five times the contracted amount, the statement said.
The statement did not name any individuals under suspicion and did not give the total amount of money that investigators believed was embezzled.
Bolshoi spokeswoman Yekaterina Novikova denied that the theatre itself could be targeted in the probe.
"The Bolshoi Theatre has practically no relation to issues of reconstruction and restoration," she told Echo of Moscow radio.
Located near Red Square, the Bolshoi's historic main stage closed in 2005 for a 700-million-dollar renovation that was due to be finished in 2008, but the end date was later pushed back to 2009 and then to 2011.
The Bolshoi stage, built between 1821 and 1825, had long been in need of major repairs when it closed, with visible cracks on the facade and performers hampered by a lack of backstage space.
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