St. Petersburg, Russia • A Russian court says a former deputy governor of St. Petersburg has admitted a fraud charge related to the construction of the city's 2018 World Cup stadium.

The St. Petersburg city court says in a statement Wednesday that Marat Oganesyan, who was deputy governor from 2013 until 2015, "admitted his guilt" in helping to arrange the fraudulent payment of 50.4 million rubles ($850,000) for a display screen contract at the stadium.

Oganesyan was accused of arranging for a friendly subcontractor to win the contract, while knowing the subcontractor had no intention of using that payment to provide the screens.

Investigators said Wednesday that Oganesyan admitted his involvement as part a pre-trial deal which includes providing evidence about other alleged offenses.

The case continues.

The 69,000-seat stadium will host a semifinal at next year's World Cup.