Polonsky may have plans for Cambodia
Polonsky may have plans for Cambodia
Say what you want about eccentric Russian property tycoon Sergei Polonsky, he’s no quitter.
After spending four months in Sihanoukville’s provincial prison earlier this year and moving to Israel upon his release from bail in April, the poetry-penning Polonsky has re-emerged from news obscurity by vowing to start a new business in Cambodia, according to Russian media.
Polonsky discussed his plans with a Russian radio station, but did not go into explicit details, the report on the online news site Russia Behind the Headlines said. Asked if Polonsky gave the interview, a spokeswoman seemed unsure, and said yesterday that it might have been his lawyer.
A real estate developer, Polonsky was arrested on December 30 for allegedly threatening six Cambodian boatmen with a knife before ordering them overboard near his private island off the Sihanoukville coast.
After the boatmen accepted $20,000 to drop the complaints against Polonsky and two of his associates, investigating judge Sar Lina released him on bail with strict orders that he stay in Cambodia until the trial, orders that weren’t heeded.
Lina did not pick up the phone when called for comment on the status of the case.
Facing charges in Cambodia for the alleged assault and in Russia in connection with an allegedly fraudulent development deal, Polonsky is applying for citizenship to Israel, according to a post on his blog in mid-July.
Anna Magin, with Polonsky's “press office", directed the Post to Polonsky’s Facebook accounts. On one of several, he posted an open letter to the Russian authorities, datelined July 29, Tel Aviv, in which he said he had nothing to hide and was willing to cooperate with them over the phone, email or at the Russian embassy.
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