PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's highest court ruled Friday that a prominent Russian property developer wanted in his homeland for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars cannot be extradited.
Supreme Court Judge Kim Sothavy said that Cambodian law did not allow for the sending 41-year-old Sergei Polonsky back to Russia because the countries do not have an extradition treaty.
The real estate tycoon was charged in Russia in June last year with embezzling more than 5.7 billion rubles ($175 million) from 80 property investors. He was arrested by Cambodian authorities in November after Russian authorities had him added to an Interpol list of internationally wanted criminals, but released on bail in January this year after a preliminary ruling against extradition.
Polonsky did not attend Friday's hearing. His Cambodian lawyer, Benson Samay, told reporters that the threat of extradition was now over, and his client has the right to stay in Cambodia.
Polonsky first came to attention in Cambodia in December 2012, when he allegedly attacked the crew of a boat during a cruise off Cambodia's southern coast, where he reportedly owns an island. He was jailed for more than three months on assault charges before reaching an out-of-court settlement.
The Russian news agency Interfax reported earlier this month that new fraud charges had been brought against Polonsky, but it was unclear if they had been communicated to Cambodian authorities.
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