Court Allows Polonsky to Stay On Private Island—For Now

The Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court prosecutor who endorsed a notice ordering fugitive Russian oligarch Sergei Polonsky to vacate his private island off the coast of Sihanoukville by December 15 said Thursday that the court would take no immediate action to remove Mr. Polonsky.

The notice, which reinforced a June injunction issued by the provincial court that demands Mr. Polonsky leave the island, Koh Dek Koul, on the grounds that it belongs to his rival, Nikolai Doroshenko. Polonsky is wanted in Russia on multimillion-dollar embezzlement charges.

“We sent a notice with a deadline for Polonsky to leave Koh Dek Koul voluntarily,” said Chat Soraksmey, chief prosecutor at the provincial court. “Polonsky is still living on Koh Dek Koul, and we have not yet set a date to implement the court [injunction].”

On Tuesday, a lawyer for Mr. Doroshenko, who co-owns a number of properties with Mr. Polonsky, said his client had urged the court to follow up on the injunction due to a number of recent disputes between the two men. Earlier this month, Mr. Doroshenko accused Mr. Polonsky of ordering an attack on his son, Ostap. Mr. Polonsky denied involvement in the attack and filed a defamation claim against the elder Doroshenko with the provincial court.

A statement posted to Mr. Polonsky’s blog said he had broken no laws, and quoted his lawyer, Benson Samay, as saying his client would continue living and doing business on the island as usual.

Contacted Thursday, Nikolai Doroshenko said he was surprised that Mr. Polonsky had not yet left.

“I wonder…why Polonsky has still not been forced to leave,” he said. “It is taking too long.”

Ostap Doroshenko on Thursday declined to comment on the court injunction and ensuing notice, but said he feared another attack by Mr. Polonsky.

“My family and I are going everywhere in a bulletproof car because I [am] still afraid of Polonsky and his men,” he said.

(Additional reporting by Ben Woods)

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