Courchevel Answers to Prokhorov's Friends
Two of the Russian women who were detained by the police along with former general director of Norilsk Nickel Mikhail Prokhorov in Courchevel in January have filed a complaint in a court in Chambery. Prokhorov's companions, whose names have not been made public, are demanding that the court bring whoever approved their detainment to responsibility.
Prokhorov's lawyer Dmitry Kharitonov told Kommersant about the suit in Chambery. “The complaint is against an unknown circle of people, and the French justice system is supposed to determine who should answer for the case,” he said. In January, Prokhorov and 16 women were detained in the French mountain resort town of Courchevel and held in a Lyon jail on suspicion of being part of a prostitution ring. The police suspected that Prokhorov was involved with the VIC Travel Co., which is engulfed in a prostitution scandal. The police released the girls without charging them. Prokhorov was questioned for four days then released as a witness after it was explained that VIC Travel did no more than arrange trips to Courchevel for Prokhorov and his large retinue. The prostitution investigation is continuing in Lyon.
“We consider the detainment of the girls illegal and want the French justice system to determine who is guilty for that and to punish that person,” Kharitonov said. He was unable to say whether the women were making material claims against the police and suggested that inquiries be made to their French lawyer Christian Charriere-Bournazel. Charriere-Bournazel was unavailable for comment yesterday, however. At his Paris office, they said that he was out of France and “there is no contact with him.”
Prokhorov's lawyer in France, Alexandre Genko-Staroselsky, told Kommersant that the suit was filed for “illegal detainment.” “The girls had absolutely nothing to do with it,” he said. “They were not suspected of committing a crime, and that is a clear violation of the French criminal procedure code. We are not hiding the fact the girls are Prokhorov's friends. We would like to know who had an interest in the case in spending so much energy on Prokhorov and his friends.”
Genko-Staroselsky said that Prokhorov has not filed any similar suit. “Holding those ladies is one thing, holding Prokhorov is another,” he explained. Timofei Gridnev, managing partner of Gridnev and Partners, which represents Prokhorov, said that that was still possible. “We have been studying the possibility of defending Mr. Prokhorov in a Lyon court for the last five months,” Gridnev said, “but we cannot say yet whether we have serious grounds for a case. We will see how events develop.” Gridnev hurried to add that “Whether or not we file suit will not depend on the outcome of the case in Chambery.”
Kharitonov declined to specify who is paying for the lawyers' services. “It's not correct to discuss that,” he commented. Charriere-Bournazel is one of France's highest-paid lawyers. According to Genko-Staroselsky, Charierre-Bournazel will head the Paris bar association next year. Khariton represents former Group MENATEP head Leonid Nevzlin in court.
Kharitonov and Genko-Staroselsky deny that Prokhorov is involved in the case in Chambery. But the fact the Kharitonov is a member of the firm Gridnev and Partners nonetheless points to Prokhorov's involvement. Among Prokhorov's close associates, it is no secret that the case may serve as a preliminary foray in Prokhorov's campaign to clear his name after the scandal at Courchevel. “[Prokhorov] undoubtedly plans to defend his honor and deserve to use ever means at his disposal,” a source close to the businessman told Kommersant. “He hasn't been able to do that yet for reasons connected with the procedural details of the French legal system. Until the investigation in the big prostitution case is completed, and it is still going in France, no protests or suits can be filed by him.”
Alexander Voronov, Yulia Taratuta
All the Article in Russian as of May 22, 2007
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