Fugitive Russian Businessman Polonsky Arrested In Cambodia

Fugitive Russian businessman Sergei Polonsky (file photo)

Russian fugitive Sergei Polonsky has been arrested in Cambodia.

A senior Cambodian immigration police official, Ouk Hey Sela, said Polonsky was arrested on May 15 because his visa has been expired for two years.

According to Cambodian law, he said, Polonsky is to be expelled from the country within a week of his arrest.

Polonsky, 42, is wanted in Russia on charges that he embezzled more than $175 million from real-estate investors.

Russian officials say he embezzled the funds in 2008 through a company called Mirax-Build, which he controlled.

In 2014, Cambodia's highest court rejected Russia's request to extradite Polonsky, saying the two countries did not have a formal extradition agreement.

In recent years, Polonsky has been living on a private island in the Southeast Asian country.

Based on reporting by AFP and AP