Scientologist arrested in Russia for 'stealing $2m and giving it to Church'

Russia has tried to ban the Scientology Church before on the grounds of it being a commercial organisation

Scientology was first proposed by science fiction writer L Ron Hubbard and given religious status in the US in 1993 (Getty Images)

A follower of Scientology has been accused of swindling money from Russians in a fraudulent operation and donating some of the proceeds to her Church.

Ekaterina Zaborskikh allegedly stole $2 million, or 130 million roubles, from prospective buyers for apartments and homes which were never built.

At least some of the money was siphoned off and sent to the Church of Scientology in Moscow, an indictment in St Petersburg has alleged.

"Detectives in Saint Petersburg found that some of the stolen funds had been transferred to the account of this religious organisation in Moscow," a spokesperson for the internal affairs ministry told the Rossiya channel.

"The suspect is a member of this organisation.

"The investigation does not exclude the possible involvement in this crime on the part of officials and coordinators of this religious organisation."

The Church of Scientology in Moscow, the only one in Russia (Google Street View)

The charges against Ms Zaborskikh include that she set up a company which advertised "affordable castles" that were then purchased but never built, according to Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Her construction company, Olimp, now appears to have ceased operations and its website is down.

One woman said she had paid 2.5 million roubles for an apartment and was told construction would start immediately, only to then find the project had never received approval for consttruction, according to NTV.

But Ms Zaborskikh's lawyers say no cash was handed over before construction began and their client is innocent.

Scientology officials at the Church in Moscow deny that Ms Zaborskikh ever handed them money from fradulent operations disguised as donations.

"This search was related to a business located in St Petersburg," said Natalya Alekseeva, a public relations director for the Moscow Church.

"This matter has no connection with the Church of Scientology in Moscow."

Russia has previously banned the Moscow Church, which is the only one in the country, alleging that it was using "commercial partnerships" and US trademarks, rather than religious organisations, to spread its message.

Members of the Church, and the Church itself, have been involved in cases of fraud around the globe at different times.

The European Court of Human Rights has several times ruled in favour of the church, saying that Russia violated its rights by refusing to register its churches.

Scientology, which is based on a mixture of psychoanalytic and spiritual premises, was accorded the status of a religion in the US in 1993, some 40 years after is was first proposed by science-fiction writer L Ron Hubbard.

Famous followers of Scientology include John Travolta, Tom Cruise and Nancy Cartwright - the voice of Bart Simpson.