MOSCOW, July 4 (RIA Novosti) – Real estate tycoon Sergei Polonsky has said he is satisfied with the community service sentence handed down earlier this week to former billionaire Alexander Lebedev, his antagonist in a scuffle broadcast on Russian TV two years ago.
“I think that the court should do the thinking,” Polonsky told Channel Nine, an Israeli television channel that broadcasts in Russian, on Wednesday. “[The sentence] suits me fully. If Lebedev decides to appeal – that is his right.”
Lebedev, a former KGB officer, punched Polonsky during filming for a talk show in September 2011. After prosecutors dropped the original charge of hooliganism “motivated by political hatred,” which carries a maximum five year jail term, the judge found Lebedev guilty of the lesser offense of battery Tuesday and sentenced him to 150 hours of community service. Lebedev's legal team said they will appeal.
While he was the victim in the Lebedev case, Polonsky, the founder of the former Russian real estate developer Mirax Group, is currently facing criminal investigations in both Russia and Cambodia.
He was arrested in Cambodia on December 31 on suspicion of attacking some local sailors while on a boat trip, but later released on bail. And Russian investigators said last month that they would seek an international arrest warrant for Polonsky in connection with a 5.7 billion ($171 million) real estate fraud case.
Polonsky, who denies the charges against him, is currently seeking citizenship in Israel.
“[Israel] is a big and great country,” Polonsky said during the interview in an unnamed Israeli city. “It’s difficult for me to say something about Israel because I am a guest… there are lawyers and we are now working on all processes that are taking place in Cambodia, and so on.”
Polonsky did not testify in the Lebedev trial because his defense maintained he was not allowed to leave Cambodia. He allegedly used Facebook to send mocking messages to Lebedev during legal proceedings.
