Gusinsky, in Greece for the past month awaiting a court ruling on whether he will be extradited to Russia on multimillion-dollar fraud charges, was in the Athens Intercontinental hotel at the time of the break-in late Thursday, his lawyer said.
"He was having dinner at the hotel restaurant with his personal security when some people using a crowbar broke into his suite," Alexandros Likourezos said. "It was definitely a professional job and they were after something.
"They were looking for something specific which they didn't find," he said, declining further comment.
Police said a gold watch and 3,500 euros ($4,000) were missing from a safe in the fifth-floor hotel room, police said.
Police said they did not know if any documents were taken.
"This is a really bizarre incident and we are looking into it very carefully because of all the circumstances surrounding Mr. Gusinsky," a police official said.
The Intercontinental has been one of Athens' best-guarded hotels since it was targeted in a bombing attack in the late 1990s. It will be a VIP hotel for the Athens Olympics next year.
Gusinsky, a former media mogul who once controlled NTV television, was arrested at Athens international airport last month after arriving from Israel.
On Thursday, he told a panel of three judges in Athens that the allegations against him were false and politically motivated. The court, which is evaluating the extradition request, is scheduled to reconvene Monday.
If it raises no objections to the extradition, the final decision rests with Greece's justice minister.
(Reuters, AP)
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