Cambodia recognizes Russian claim to fugitive mogul Polonsky

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MOSCOW, January 17 (RAPSI) - Cambodian court officialy recognized Russian claim for the extradition of fugitive real estate tycoon Sergei Polonsky, but postponed its review before the hearings into businessman's crimes in Cambodia are resolved, Russian Prosecutor General's Office reported on Friday.

The court in Cambodia released Polonsky on bail, but the extradition claim will be reviewed after the Preah Sianook court will the finish the proceedings in Polonsky's Cambodian case, the prosecution's statement reads.

Polonsky spent three months in jail in Cambodia last year on kidnapping charges . The Cambodian police arrested Polonsky, Konstantin Baglay and Alexander Karachinsky on December 31 2012, on charges of having inflicted harm on the crew of a ship heading back to Sihanoukville from nearby islands and of having deprived them of their personal liberty. Prosecutors maintain that, while in a state of intoxication, the men threatened the crew with knives, locked them in a hold, and then forced them to jump overboard. Later, the mogul and his friends were released.

After receiving bail he fled to Israel, where he sought citizenship, supposedly in a bid to shield himself from extradition to Russia.

Polonsky was then again detained in Cambodia by the local police in November 2013 at the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office, which seeks the businessman’s extradition. Polonsky was charged in absentia last July as part of a criminal case involving the embezzlement of over 5.7 billion rubles (over $176 million) from the participants in an up-market cooperative residential construction project in central Moscow.

In 2008, Forbes ranked Polonsky Russia's 40th richest man with a $4.35 billion fortune. He headed the Mirax Group, a property development company that went bankrupt during the global economic crisis.

http://rapsinews.com/judicial_news/20140117/270471986.html

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And the next day 18 January 2014, 19:48

Cambodia refuses to extradite Polonsky in Russia

Businessman Sergei Polonsky's lawyer, Alexander Karabanov, has confirmed that the Cambodian Prosecutor's Office refused to extradite his client in Russia.

"A translated text of the verdict returned by a Cambodian court has come today. It says that Cambodia refuses to hand over Sergei Polonsky to the Russian side," the lawyer said.

"After having thoroughly scrutinized the case, Cambodia's prosecution didn't find traces of a criminal crime in provided documents," Polonsky wrote in his live journal.

"Moreover, the Cambodian Prosecutor General's Office believes that relations between a contractor, investor and co-investor need considering under the Russian Arbitrary and Civil Codes," Polonsky continued.

The businessman asserts that basing on the above mentioned facts a Cambodian court "decided not to satisfy extradition request".

On Friday, the Russian Prosecutor's Office announced that in compliance with a verdict returned by a Cambodian court, the extradition of Sergei Polonsky in Russia wasn't cancelled but only suspended before a criminal case accusing Polonsky of "illegal detention" of local people, opened in Sihanoukville province, was closed.
Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_01_18/Cambodia-refuses-to-extradite-Polonsky-in-Russia-2067/