A lawyer for Russian developer Sergei Polonsky has filed a complaint with the Preah Sihanouk Provincial Court accusing the son of his former business partner of defamation for disseminating a letter that claims Mr. Polonsky paid officials $250,000 to imprison his father.
Russian national Nikolai Doroshenko, 54, was arrested at his family’s Snake House restaurant and menagerie in Sihanoukville on March 25 and sent to the provincial prison to await trial on fraud charges related to a dispute with Mr. Polonsky, who is wanted in Russia on multimillion-dollar embezzlement charges.
Last week, Mr. Doroshenko’s son Ostap released a letter that accused Mr. Polonsky of paying the “fabulous sum” of $250,000 to have his father locked up. Ostap Doroshenko offered no evidence to back up this claim, and on Sunday, Mr. Polonsky’s attorney, Benson Samay, said he had taken legal action in response.
“I filed a complaint with the Preah Sihanouk court on Friday, demanding that the man [Ostap] Doroshenko show us the evidence, and he will be charged with defaming my client if he doesn’t have evidence,” he said.
The Court of Appeal is due to announce a decision today about the elder Doroshenko’s second request to be released on bail. His first bail request was rejected by the Preah Sihanouk court last month.
