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Polonsky Plea Bargain Request Rejected

Russian authorities have rejected businessman Sergei Polonsky's request for a plea bargain, Polonsky's lawyer Alexander Karabanov said.

Karabanov said the defense would send another request for a plea bargain to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, Interfax reported Friday.

The plea bargain would see Polonsky pay back the victims of his alleged crimes and cooperate with investigators in return for having the order for his arrest rescinded, allowing him to return to Russia.

Polonsky previously announced he had bought a ticket to Russia for Nov. 11, but canceled his trip.

"Given the current situation, I can't," he told television station Rossiya-24 on Wednesday.

The warrant was issued by a Russian court in September after the businessman was charged with embezzling more than 5.7 billion rubles ($172 million) from stakeholders in a residential development project.

The fugitive tycoon was then put on an international wanted list by Interpol at the request of Russian authorities in mid-October.

Polonsky currently lives on his private island Koh Dek Kuol in Cambodia, the Cambodia Daily reported Wednesday.

Polonsky was held at a Cambodian prison between December 2012 and April of the following year in connection with assault charges for reportedly forcing six Cambodians off a boat at knifepoint. He was subsequently released on bail.

In August Polonsky's lawyer Diana Tatosova said he had left Cambodia and spent several months in Israel and applied for citizenship there before moving out of the country "for security reasons," Forbes reported.

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