Russian tycoon Mikhail Prokhorov, second in the Forbes rating of Russia's richest people, is to be awarded France's Legion of Honour, the French embassy in Moscow said Friday.
The National Order of the Legion of Honour will be awarded to Prokhorov on March 14, 2011 for expanding cultural ties between the two countries.
The award comes despite a January 2007 scandal that saw the arrest of Prokhorov and two young women in the French ski resort of Courchevel. They were detained as part of an investigation into an international prostitution ring. The case was closed in summer 2009 due to a lack of evidence.
Last year Russian polar explorer and President Dmitry Medvedev's envoy to the Arctic and Antarctica Artur Chilingarov was awarded the Legion of Honour for his outstanding achievements in the exploration of the Arctic.
MOSCOW, February 18 (RIA Novosti)
