MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti) – Russian property tycoon Sergei Polonsky, who is awaiting extradition to Moscow in a Cambodian jail, has announced plans to marry his common-law wife, his lawyer said Friday.
“The couple applied for a marriage license at around 5 p.m. local time on Thursday,” lawyer Alexander Karabanov said.
The wedding, planned for December 1, will be a “gift” for Polonsky who will mark his 41st birthday on that day, his bride Olga Deripaska, said in an interview with Life News TV channel.
Deripaska, who is not believed to be related to another Russian billionaire businessman, Oleg Deripaska, told Life News she intends to tie the knot with Polonsky under any circumstances, even if he is not released from jail by the wedding date. In that case, the ceremony will be held right in jail, she said.
Polonsky, who was arrested last week on a Cambodian island, is now being held in Prey Sar, the country’s largest prison, outside the capital Phnom Penh. No exact date for his extradition has been announced as the court hearings have been delayed, the lawyer said.
Last week, Deripaska was briefly detained by prison guards while visiting Polonsky’s Cambodian jail. Police said she was held when a group of journalists accompanying her started taking photos and filming inside the prison without permission.
Formerly one of Russia’s richest construction magnates, Polonsky is wanted in Russia for an alleged embezzling 5.7 billion-ruble ($175 million) from investors in an upscale residential project in Moscow. He denies the charges.
