MOSCOW, October 18 - RAPSI. A criminal case has been opened over the alleged theft of funds from people who paid money to take part in the elections to the Opposition Coordinating Council, the Prosecutor General's Office spokesperson Marina Gridneva told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

She said the prosecutors have received 64 individual applications claiming that an online resource published information about the Coordinating Council elections and allegedly offered the opportunity to take part for a fee of 10,000 rubles ($325).

According to the Interior Ministry's Moscow Department, the criminal case was opened in response to an audit carried out by the economic security and anticorruption unit.

The elections for the Opposition Coordinating Council will be held on October 20-21. The board will be elected for a term of one year. It comprises 45 members: 30 elected from a general list of candidates and five nominated by each of three ideological movements (left wing, liberal and nationalist). The elections are intended to represent individuals who actively seek changes in Russia's domestic politics.

There are 216 candidates, including well known blogger Alexei Navalny and Left Front coordinator Sergei Udaltsov.