MOSCOW, November 28 (RIA Novosti) – Cambodia has put on hold legal proceedings to extradite disgraced Russian tycoon Sergei Polonsky, his lawyer said Thursday.
The Russian Embassy in Cambodia could not confirm the information, saying it has not been officially notified so far.
Lawyer Alexander Karabanov said citing Cambodian prosecutors that a court suspended extradition procedures because the prosecutors were unable to find grounds for legal and criminal proceedings in an international arrest warrant issued by Russia via Interpol.
Formerly one of Russia’s richest construction magnates, Polonsky is wanted in Russia for allegedly participating in an embezzlement of 5.7 billion rubles ($175 million) from investors in an upscale residential project in Moscow. He denies the charges.
“Polnsky will be transferred to another prison, and extradition hearings will be postponed until a trial on Cambodian charges is over,” the lawyer said.
Polonsky was arrested in Cambodia in December last year together with two friends after allegedly attacking the crew of a boat ferrying the three men from a Cambodian island to a nearby resort city. He has been cleared of those charges.
He was detained again in November.
