Moscow Seeks to Extradite Russian Tycoon From Cambodia

By Chun Han Wong and Lukas I. Alpert

The Wall Street Journal

November 9, 2013

 

Russian prosecutors are seeking the extradition of Russian businessman Sergei Polonsky from Cambodia on charges of embezzlement, even as the real-estate tycoon battles assault allegations in the Southeast Asian nation.

Bloomberg

Sergei Polonsky seen in a 2009 photo, in Moscow.

Mr. Polonsky, a real-estate developer and onetime billionaire, is living in Cambodia’s southern Sihanoukville province, where he awaits trial over an alleged assault on local boatmen late last year. He was released on bail in April and has denied wrongdoing in this case.

According to Russian news agency reports this week, Russian prosecutors said they have officially request Cambodia to extradite Mr. Polonsky, after filing charges against him in absentia in August and declaring him a fugitive in October.

The 40-year-old businessman is accused of embezzling 5.7 billion rubles ($176 million) from down payments made by prospective buyers of a luxury residential complex in Moscow that was never built. He has denied the charges.

Cambodian police, through a spokesman, confirmed this week that they have received the request and will make arrangements for an arrest. Cambodian officials previously said they would complete their own legal proceedings against Mr. Polonsky before considering extradition.

Mr. Polonsky, in a blog post published Wednesday, called on Interpol–the international police-coordinating agency–to rescind its arrest warrant. “To add me to the Interpol-wanted list only prevents me from returning to Russia and concluding a pre-trial agreement in which the truth could be established, which is the main objective of the group of raiders who have seized my business,” he wrote.

He declined to provide further comment, responding in an email with only a smiley face.

Mr. Polonsky is chairman and founder of real-estate group Potok, the successor company to the defunct Mirax. Potok operates in Russia, Ukraine, France, Cambodia, Switzerland, the U.S. and the U.K., according to its website. Its Cambodian assets include a resort on Koh Dek Koule island, located off the coast of Sihanoukville.

An outspoken blogger whose posts range from his thoughts on business to photos of exotic animals on his shoulders, Mr. Polonsky’s worth was valued at $1.2 billion in 2008, according to Forbes magazine, before his Mirax Group property-development concern collapsed in the wake of the financial crisis. He gained attention in September 2011 when he was floored by a punch from another wealthy tycoon, Alexander Lebedev, during a live television broadcast.

In Cambodia, prosecutors say Mr. Polonsky committed “intentional violence” and “illegal detention” against a group of local boatmen. If convicted, he could be jailed for up to three years and fined up to $2,500. It isn’t clear when he is next due in court.

Cambodian authorities detained Mr. Polonsky and two other Russians on Dec. 30 over an alleged attack on the six-man crew of a boat that was ferrying the trio to the Cambodian mainland from an island. Mr. Polonsky’s companions, both in their 20s, were released in March after the provincial court ruled that they didn’t play a major role in the alleged assault.

– Sun Narin contributed to this article.