MOSCOW, February 28 (RAPSI) - The city of Moscow is suing AFK Holding Group, a company cofounded by Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko, for 24 million rubles ($676,000) for a debt it owes to the city, Izvestia reports.

According to Izvestia, AFK has been managing a movie theater in Moscow. The company subleases a building that includes a movie theater, a bowling ally, a sports bar, a night club, a restaurant and a billiards hall.

Alexander Burkov, Director of the Movie Theater Property Management Directorate, says Plushenko’s business partners were current on the lease payments through last summer. However, beginning last July the company stopped paying its bills.

“We tried to reach an amicable agreement with AFK out-of-court,” Burkov says. “However, the owners wouldn’t cooperate. We had to take legal action. We have sued AFK through the Moscow Commercial Court to pay its debt of 23 million rubles with a penalty of 1.2 million rubles. The directorate is also suing to cancel the lease contract and evict the company from the premises.

Evgeni Plushenko was number 35 on the Forbes top Russian celebrity list last year. The magazine estimated his annual income at about $2.5 mln.

Plushenko contributed to the figure skating team victory at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. It was the second gold medal in his career after his victory at the 2006 Olympics in Turin. Plushenko was also a silver medalist at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and at the Vancouver Games in 2010.