On January 7, Mikhail Prokhorov was having fun at a gig of a Russian rock band in Courchevel, but ended up in jail two hours later.
Photo: Valery Levitin
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Russian Billionaire Back From Courchevel Clear of Charges
Norilsk Nickel co-owner Mikhail Prokhorov and his company’s top managers, who were released from jail in Lyon, France, last Friday, are going to work on Monday. The prostitution scandal which erupted on the French ski resort is not over yet. Mr. Prokhorov and his colleagues are still material witnesses, the status that may be changed in case new evidence appears. Moreover, the scandal-tainted businessmen can be denied EU visas.
Mikhail Prokhorov, co-owner of Norilsk Nickel, goes to work Monday as his official holiday is over, the company’s spokesperson said.
Mikhail Prokhorov and 25 other Russians were arrested January 9 on the Courchevel ski resort, France, during a police raid targeted at arranged prostitution. The police has been trying to break up the prostitution ring since February 2005 when a number of Russian women were suspected to have been flown to France by the VIC Travel company to be involved in prostitution. Mikhail Prokhorov fell under suspicion since VIC Travel had arranged the trip for the Russian billionaire’s female retinue.
Mikhail Prokhorov, Norils Nickel’s vice-president Dmitry Shatov and a few other employees faced the Lyon court on Friday. The court ruled to free the detainees after a six-hour questioning. The Lyon prosecutor, Xavier Richaud, reports that Mr. Prokhorov said that he had meet the girls at clubs and restaurants in Moscow and paid for their visit to Courchevel. He said neither him nor his friends had had any sexual intercourse with these women. The ladies also denied having been paid.
Still, Mr. Richaud says that prosecutors have evidence of Prokhorov’s connection with the prostitution ring, though there is no direct proof to charge him. “The investigation is underway, and if new information appears, they [the Russians] will be called for questioning again,” she said.
Mikhail Prokhorov’s lawyers have not decided yet what legal actions they would take.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 15, 2007
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