MOSCOW, April 25 (RAPSI) - The Skolkovo Foundation is ready to sue State Duma lawmaker Ilya Ponomaryov if it is proved that his services to the foundation did not justify the payment he received for them, Skolkovo Foundation president Viktor Vekselberg told RIA Novosti on Thursday.

According to the Investigative Committee, Skolkovo Foundation's vice president, Alexei Beltyukov, paid Ponomaryov $750,000 of foundation money without sanction between February 2011 and February 2012 for a series of lectures and research projects. An investigation has been launched into Beltyukov's actions and investigators will be analyzing the subject, content and academic value of the lectures Ponomaryov was contracted to give for $300,000.

The Skolkovo Foundation said last week that it has requested additional information from Ponomaryov on his work. If proof is found that the deputy's services were inadequate, the foundation will seek to retrieve the amount paid to him, along with damages, Vekselberg said.

Meanwhile, Ponomaryov denies that his work was inadequate. He told RIA Novosti earlier that he had done more work for the foundation than even the reports showed.

Deputy Prime Minister Vladislav Surkov, the government official responsible for innovations, which includes the Skolkovo project, told reporters on Wednesday that the Russian government should not interfere with the investigation.

The Skolkovo Foundation, set up in 2010 by then President Dmitry Medevedev, is the primary agency for the Skolkovo high-tech development hub, which includes a business center, a science and technology institute and a management school. The project is intended to showcase the drive to diversify and modernize the Russian economy. Renova Group president Viktor Vekselberg is one of the foundation's prime investors.