Sergei Polonsky
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Sergei Yurievich Polonsky (; born 1 December 1972) is a Russian businessman. He is the owner and head of one of the largest real estate companies in Russia, previously known as Mirax Group (2004–2011). He was one of the richest men in Russia before the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
with a net worth of $5 billion and projects in 11 counties in the world. Now, he is a shareholder and investor in a number of commercial structures incorporated by the holding company Potok.


Early life

Polonsky was born 1 December 1972 in
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(now
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
, Russia). His father, Yuri Polonsky, is
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
by ethnicity, and his mother, Nina Makusheva, is Russian. Polonsky finished secondary school No. 99 of the
Vyborg Vyborg (; , ; , ; , ) is a town and the administrative center of Vyborgsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies on the Karelian Isthmus near the head of Vyborg Bay, northwest of St. Petersburg, east of the Finnish capital H ...
District of
Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. In 1989, he joined the
airborne troops Airborne forces are Ground warfare, ground combat units airlift, carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in airborne units are also known as par ...
. He completed his military service in the 21st Separate Air Assault Brigade (1990–1992), which was stationed in the time of the armed conflict between
South Ossetia South Ossetia, officially the Republic of South Ossetia or the State of Alania, is a landlocked country in the South Caucasus with International recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, partial diplomatic recognition. It has an offici ...
and
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
in the combat zone at
Tskhinvali Tskhinvali ( ka, ცხინვალი ) or Tskhinval (, ; , ) is the capital of the disputed ''de facto'' independent Republic of South Ossetia, internationally considered part of Shida Kartli, Georgia (except by Russia and four other UN m ...
. In 2000, Polonsky graduated from the St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering. He qualified as an
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
and manager with a specialization in
economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...
and management of building enterprises. In 2002, he defended his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
thesis "Formation of Functional Procurement Strategies in Construction".. In 2008, Polonsky attempted
doctoral A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...
, but, considering the academic council biased, he withdrew the work and posted the text of the thesis for an open discussion on the Internet.


Career


Stroymontazh

In 1994, when Polonsky was 22, he founded Stroymontazh LLC with his longtime friend Artur Kirilenko. Stroymontazh was a construction and real estate firm set up with the initial intention of selling apartments that they had plastered and finished. However, when the building owners ran into financial difficulty, they began to pay the pair in apartments. It was through these means that Polonsky and Kirilenko took control of their first unfinished building, starting them on the path to being property developers. In 1996 the company took its first contract job, completing an apartment project in St. Petersburg for a company called Lenenergo. "The house had an area of 22,000 sq. m. That year, the entire Leningrad region finished, probably less. I thought they would thank me, but the woman who came to take over the house refused to take it for another six months for various reasons. We did it only by a miracle," Polonsky said for forbes. By the end of the 90s, Stroymontazh was one of the largest players in the St. Petersburg real estate market. During the
1998 Russian financial crisis The Russian financial crisis (also called the ruble crisis or the Russian flu) began in Russia on 17 August 1998. It resulted in the Russian government and the Russian Central Bank devaluing the Russian rouble, ruble and sovereign default, defau ...
, Polonsky and Kirilenko began to achieve huge financial success. According to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', by paying construction costs in
rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
and selling property in
dollars Dollar is the name of more than 25 currencies. The United States dollar, named after the international currency known as the Spanish dollar, was established in 1792 and is the first so named that still survives. Others include the Australian d ...
they were able to profit in the lag time between construction and sale as the value of the rouble fell. The company rapidly amassed wealth and made a name for itself as one of
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
's largest developers, eventually building Petrovsky Fort, a 540,000-square-foot complex that became the standard for business centers in the former capital.Manhattan on the Moskva
New York Times, 10.09.2006
Polonsky opened an office in
Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
in 2000. Two years later, Mayor Luzkhov appointed him as an adviser. Polonsky was not yet 30.


Mirax Group

In 2004, the Moscow branch of Stroymontazh was renamed "Mirax Group" and in 2006, split from Stroymontazh, the
Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
branch, with Polonsky at the head of Mirax and Kirilenko at the head of Stroymontazh. Both men maintained 10% ownership of the other's company until 2009 when they each sold their respective stakes. Mirax carried out projects in
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
,
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
,
Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
,
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
,
Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
,
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. At its peak in the late 2000s, Mirax Group's assets amounted to more than 12 million square meters of real estate, with 2008 revenues estimated at $1.65 billion and net profits of $616.4 million. Some notable projects are outlined below.


Moscow's Federation Tower

Identified as Moscow's first
skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Most modern sources define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition, other than being very tall high-rise bui ...
, the
Federation Tower The Federation Tower () is a complex of two skyscrapers built on the 13th lot of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. The two skyscrapers are named Tower East or Vostok (Russian: Восток; literally means "East") and T ...
is recognized as the tallest building in Europe. The building consists of two towers, the taller one with 93 floors and a height of 1,161 feet, and the other with 63 floors. The towers have 4.5 million square feet of high-end office space, luxury apartments, shops, restaurants, and a 44-story Grand Hyatt hotel. A spire was to be also built which would have extended the complex's height to 450 meters (1,476 feet) as well as provided an observation deck, but it was never completed and was dismantled afterward. In 2009, The Federation Tower won the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Award (Office Category Winner). Construction of the project stalled in 2008 due to the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of market decline in economies around the world that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009.
; however, it was resumed in August 2011 and completed in 2017.


Korona residential property

Korona was a Moscow landmark project, aiming to reflect state-of-the-art achievements in architecture, planning, construction technologies, and landscaping. The ceremony of laying the first stone in the foundation of the Korona Project intended to demonstrate a "new, unusual, vigorous and assertive style" of the young businessmen from St. Petersburg.


Golden Keys

Golden Keys 2 Residential Property was the 2nd project implemented by Polonsky's team. Polonsky suggested a comfortable "town within the city" living concept where high-rise residential buildings are mixed with a cottage village named "Y". After that, the company launched new business centers Pollars and Europe Building. In 2002–2007, the company started the construction of such residential compounds as Taganka House, Kutuzovskaya Riviera, Mirax Park and the
Federation Tower The Federation Tower () is a complex of two skyscrapers built on the 13th lot of the Moscow International Business Center in Moscow, Russia. The two skyscrapers are named Tower East or Vostok (Russian: Восток; literally means "East") and T ...
– a mixed-use complex in the
Moscow International Business Center The Moscow International Business Center (MIBC), also known as Moscow-City, is an under-construction commercial development in Moscow, the capital of Russia. The project occupies an area of 60 hectares, and is located just east of the Third Rin ...
– Moscow City.


Other projects in Moscow

Residential Complex "Dubrovskaya Sloboda" - 2 buildings of 19-30 floors. 982 apartments (47-218 sq. m.) , 8 penthouses (173-375 sq. m.). 2.25 Hectares of landscaped territory. Residential Complex "Kutuzovskaya Riviera" - 4 buildings 30-35 floors. 840 apartments (76-966 sq. m.). More than 40,000 sq. m. underground Parking. It has its own small nature reserve with several species of animals and birds. The Mirax Park residential complex consists of 4 high-rise buildings of 31-37 floors, a multi-section building of 10-14 floors. 1035 apartments. 16 Hectares of landscaped territory combined with the residential complex "Korona". The MIRAX-SCHOOL Children's educational complex is a 260-seat preschool. A comprehensive school with 550 places. The residential complex "Well House" consists of 4 buildings of 30-48 floors, 2 low-rise sections of 5-7 floors. 655 apartments (43-200 sq. m.) 2.48 Hectares of landscaped territory The residential complex "House on Taganka" has 14-18 floors. 207 apartments (63-158 sq. m.). 12 penthouses. The residential complex "Fort Kutuzov" has 22 floors. 156 apartments (57-138 sq. m.). Winter garden with exotic plants. The office Building "Europe Building" has 15 floors. the total area is 16,000 sq. m. The Pollars Office Center has 7-16 floors. The total area is 55,500 sq. m.


Foreign projects

Montenegro Astra-Mentenegro resort town - 43 villas, a hotel complex, a high-rise residential building. The total area of 120,000 sq. m. is more than 9 hectares of landscaped territory. Astra Montenegro is located in the heart of the Budva Riviera, on the cape separating the city of Budva and the village of Becici. Astra Montenegro includes a wellness complex, fitness center, SPA center, children's club, zoo, marina, casino. Cambodia Mirax Resort Boutique Hotel in Koh Dek Kul Private Island is the only operating 5* private island resort in Cambodia. The resort has a cascade of saltwater pools, an exclusive collection of historical treasures, a unique diving base in the hotel, where each of the 12 rooms has its own exotic style. France Since 2004, Polonsky, together with Hermitage and Artur Kirilenko, wanted to build residential complexes with a total area of 50 thousand square meters and a 323-meter skyscraper designed by Norman Foster in the suburbs of Paris. Investments in the skyscraper alone were estimated at €2 billion. But in March 2011, Hermitage CEO Emin Iskenderov bought out Polonsky's share. Switzerland Since 2007, Mirax has been planning the construction of the Aminona Luxury Resort ski resort in the Swiss resort of Aminona — luxury apartments, a 500-room hotel complex, a chalet and a shopping center. The investment was estimated at $830 million. USA In Miami, Mirax acquired a stake in the Aqua project from the American Dacra Development corporation in 2007: the developer received 13 villas without finishing and the right to build up housing for about 3.4 hectares more. The termination of the project or its sale was not reported Turkey In Kemer, Turkey, Mirax became the owner of the Sungate Port Royal Hotel in 2007. It included more than 900 rooms and villas, and the total area of the territory was 250 thousand square meters. m. In Mirax itself, investments were estimated at €340 million. Vietnam Mirax acquired a plot on the Nha Trang coast in Vietnam in 2008 for the construction of a 200-bed hotel and 100 villas. England In the historic center of London, Mirax was going to reconstruct a complex of residential buildings of the XIX century "Cornwell Terrace" with a total area of more than 8 thousand square meters. m. The total investment in the project was supposed to be about £10 million. The company held a corresponding presentation in July 2008. Since 2008, Mirax has also been involved in the construction of a 52-storey skyscraper on the south bank of the Thames.


2008 economic crisis and restructuring into Potok

In 2008, Polonsky was the first developer who openly admitted that the Russian real estate market was affected by the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. According to Anton Chernigovsky, who wrote the article "Polonsky Makes a Demarche" published in the ''Business Magazine'', "his competitors kept arguing zestfully that real estate was the last thing to be threatened by the crisis. But in as early as two months, they had to withdraw their words and start to urgently suspend their projects and patch up financial gaps". The downturn hit Mirax Group hard; in August 2008, Polonsky published an open letter in his blog, where he said that during the previous year, Mirax Group could not receive any credit to continue construction and had not sold any real estate over the past few months. Commissioning deadlines, therefore, needed to be reviewed and extended. On 10 October 2008, Sergei Polonsky announced that he would eat his tie if the elite apartments' prices did not rise by over 25% in 1.5 years. The forecast came true with a half a year delay, and on 31 May 2011 Polonsky ate a piece of a true tie at ''Minaev LIVE'', a TV show hosted by
Sergey Minaev Sergey Sergeevich Minaev (Russian: Серге́й Серге́евич Мина́ев, born January 25, 1975) is a Russian writer, TV and radio host, screenwriter, blogger, and entrepreneur. Minaev's debut novel "Dukhless. The Tale of an Unreal ...
. In July 2009, Alpha Bank acquired all of Mirax Group's debt obligations to
Credit Suisse Credit Suisse Group AG (, ) was a global Investment banking, investment bank and financial services firm founded and based in Switzerland. According to UBS, eventually Credit Suisse was to be fully integrated into UBS. While the integration ...
and called in the company's debts in an effort to bring the company to bankruptcy and take control of it. Polonsky described the steps taken by Alpha Bank as 'premeditated systematic actions aimed at divesting and acquiring' the corporation's assets adding that Mirax Group had been 'completely unready for the sudden turn of events.' In February 2011,
Sberbank The Public JSC Sberbank (, initially a contraction of ) is a Russian majority state-owned banking and financial services company headquartered in Moscow. As the Russian successor entity of the State Labor Savings Banks System of the USSR, it was ...
of Russia (Savings Bank of the Russian Federation) decided to grant Mirax Group a $373 million credit for six years. On 3 March 2011, at a media conference, Sergey Polonskiy declared that the Mirax Group Board decided to liquidate the Mirax brand. He also promised to fulfill all the obligations of the Group to complete the projects and repay the debts. In May 2011, the works at the unfinished projects were resumed. On 1 December 2011, Polonsky renamed his company "Potok", and this company inherited all the structures and liabilities of the former Mirax Group. On 6 July 2012, by virtue of the shareholders' agreement, Polonsky bought out the shares of the minority shareholders of the "Potok" (Flow) company and became the owner of Potok's 100% block of shares.


Kutuzovskaya Mile takeover and embezzlement charges

One notable project to stall as a result of the economic crisis was the Kutuzovskaya Mile residential complex. Polonsky became involved in the project through Mirax in 2005 at the request of the Moscow Mayor Resin Rosltak. The project had been started in 2002 by FTsSR (Federal Centre for Social Development), a company with many political connections but little experience in developing real estate. Mirax took control of the project and agreed to give FTsSR 5% of the finished apartments. Mirax proceeded to invest 2.5 billion
ruble The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are s ...
s in developing the project before work was forced to stop in 2009.Остров Полонского
Novaya Gazeta, 4.8.14
FTsSR terminated the contract in January 2010. Polonsky claimed this was done unlawfully, leading to disputes between FTsSR and Mirax Group. However, according to FTsSR, funding from Mirax Group had stopped. In September 2011 FTsSR forcibly took control of the site using a private security firm. Polonsky has described FTsSR's actions as a raid in the media. "At this very moment the Project site, located at the construction site of the residential quarter Kutuzovskaya Mile, is being forcibly taken over", the company said in an official statement. To protest against the actions of the Moscow authorities, Polonsky declared a hunger strike and continued to provide his round-the-clock presence at the construction site. The Moscow Chief Directorate of the Ministry for the Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation stated at the time however that "the police stayed uninvolved in the conflict." and that the law enforcement officers present at the scene were there to "maintain public order". Subsequently, in September 2012, the
Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation (MVD; , ''Ministerstvo vnutrennikh del'') is the interior ministry of Russia. The MVD is responsible for law enforcement in Russia through its agencies the Police of Russia, Migratio ...
(MVD) began investigating Polonsky in relation to the Kutuzovskaya Mile project. Prosecutors claimed that between 2007 and 2008, Polonsky, through Mirax Group subsidiaries Avanta and Concordia Asset Management, took 5.78 billion rubles in down payments from 80 individuals hoping to buy apartments. They claimed that contractual obligations were not fulfilled and the funds were illegally diverted by Polonsky to other Mirax Group entities. In June 2013, the MDV charged Polonsky in absentia with embezzlement. Polonsky strongly denies any accusations of wrongdoing and has expressed his willingness to be investigated as he believes that "no legal offense has been committed." According to the Russian publication ''Novaya Gazeta'', the Kutuzovskaya Mile issue has become a "bottomless pit of internet folklore". Polonsky maintains that he transferred 2.5 billion rubles to FTsSR prior to the termination of their contract, which would have been more than sufficient to meet the contractual obligations entered into by his companies. He added that the remaining funds had not been diverted out of the project and had stayed within Mirax Group. In an open letter dated 2 October 2013 Polonsky admitted to "incompetent management" and expressed his willingness to pay $12 million in compensation to his creditors. He also sought to assure all investors that their apartments would be completed. The embezzlement charges, Polonsky believes, are part of an attempt by FTsSR and the Moscow government to take the Kutuzovskaya project away from him and hand control to
Arkady Rotenberg Arkady Romanovich Rotenberg (; born 15 December 1951) is a Russian billionaire businessman and oligarch. With his brother Boris Rotenberg, he was co-owner of the Stroygazmontazh (S.G.M. group), the largest construction company for gas pipeli ...
, a rival property developer with close ties to the Russian president
Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...


Arrest in Cambodia

In late 2012, Sergei Polonsky and two other Russians – Konstantin Baglay and Alexander Karachinsky – were arrested by the Cambodian police. They were suspected of unlawfully depriving several Cambodian seamen of their liberty. Polonsky protested at the arrest and the conditions of his incarceration, writing on his blog "After being detained, none of the detainees, including myself, was allowed to make a telephone call, we were denied our right to a counsel for legal assistance and to an interpreter, although the law of Cambodia provides for these rights. At present, they are holding me in a cell without an air conditioner at a temperature exceeding +35 degrees Celsius in the shade and with horrible sanitary conditions. According to the Cambodian counsels and interpreters, they regularly receive threats and warnings not to work with me from unknown people." He also made several petitions to the
Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (MFA Russia; , МИД РФ) is the central government institution charged with leading the foreign policy and foreign relations of Russia. It is a continuation of the Ministry of Foreig ...
; however, they failed to take any steps to help. Polonskiy also had strong relationship with King of Cambodia. Businessman was investing into the economy of the country and helping people. K. Baglay and A. Karachinsky were released from custody uncharged on 11 March 2013 and Polonsky was released on bail on 3 April 2013. On 15 May 2015, Polonsky was arrested again in
Sihanoukville Sihanoukville (, ), also known as Kampong Saom (, ) or Preah Sihanouk (, ), is a coastal city in Cambodia and the capital of Preah Sihanouk Province, at the tip of an elevated peninsula in the country's south-west on the Gulf of Thailand. T ...
, where authorities said he had been living for two years with an expired visa, which was not true at all. After it was officially proven that Polinskiy had valid visa. Cambodian Authorities has deported this fugitive Russian tycoon living illegally after he was accused of embezzling $175 million in his homeland. He was put on a flight to Moscow via Vietnam on Sunday morning.


Interpol and extradition to Russia

On 14 October 2013, at the request of the Russian authorities, Polonsky was issued with a "red notice" by
Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...
and on 7 November 2013 the Russian Prosecutor's Office sent Cambodia an official request for Polonsky's
extradition In an extradition, one Jurisdiction (area), jurisdiction delivers a person Suspect, accused or Conviction, convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, into the custody of the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforc ...
. Polonsky was subsequently detained. However, on 14 January 2014, the Phnom Penh Appeal Court ruled that the grounds given by Russia for Polonsky's extradition were insufficient. New charges were brought against Polonsky in February 2014 and sent to
Cambodia Cambodia, officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. It is bordered by Thailand to the northwest, Laos to the north, and Vietnam to the east, and has a coastline ...
. However, on 16 April 2014, the Supreme Court of Cambodia ruled that Cambodia does not have an extradition treaty with Russia, and so Polonsky could not be extradited on any grounds. Polonsky was eventually deported from Cambodia and sent back to Moscow on 17 May 2015. A Moscow court had scheduled his trial date for 11 October 2015.Alexei Afonsky
Russian businessman Polonsky to remain in detention until October
RAPSI, 12 August 2015.
On 12 July 2017, the court found Polonsky guilty on two cases of major fraud and embezzlement, deciding he should face five years in prison. However, the court ruled the crime constituted a business dispute and Polonsky would only face punishment for the "non-fulfillment of contractual obligations". Plonskiy was released in the courtroom.


UK High Court case against Alexander Dobrovinsky

On 7 May 2014, Polonsky filed a lawsuit at the UK High Court against his former lawyer, Alexander Dobrovinsky. Polonsky claimed that Dobrovinsky, along with his colleague Natalia Levinzon, the London-based law firm Dobrovinsky, and Partners LLP helped steal £300 million from him by pretending that he was negotiating a sale of his company, Potok, to
Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich (born 24 October 1966) is a business oligarch and politician. He is the former owner of Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, a Premier League football club in London, England, and is the primary owner of the private investment com ...
whilst Polonsky was detained in Cambodia. Dobrovinsky, a known advocate of numerous
Russian oligarch Russian oligarchs () are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The failing Soviet state left the ownership ...
s, was in fact, it transpired, selling the business to Roman Trotsenko, an existing shareholder in Potok, with whom Polonsky had previously refused to do business. Polonsky claimed he had received only a few million dollars of the hundreds of millions he says he is owed, and alleged that the lawyers were acting for Mr. Trotsenko all along.


''Neulovimiye'' film

In March 2015, Polonsky announced plans for a $1 billion lawsuit against U.S. filmmaker
20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
because of similarities between himself and a villain in one of the studio's films. ''Neulovimiye'' ("Elusive"), a Russian-language movie released in 2015 by 20th Century Fox, has a primary character named Sergei Polyansky who kills a young woman with his car and displays many negative character traits. In addition to having a similar name, film critics have acknowledged similarities in physical appearance between the real-life Polonsky and the fictional Polyansky. The lawsuit has yet to be filed.


Politics


Presidential candidacy

Polonsky expressed interest in running for
President of Russia The president of Russia, officially the president of the Russian Federation (), is the executive head of state of Russia. The president is the chair of the State Council (Russia), Federal State Council and the President of Russia#Commander-in-ch ...
in the
2018 Russian Presidential Election Presidential elections were held in Russia on 18 March 2018. Incumbent president Vladimir Putin was eligible to run. He declared his intent to do so on 6 December 2017 and was expected to win. This came following several months of speculation t ...
. Polonsky was nominated by an initiative group made up of 520 activists on 24 December. He filed registration documents with the CEC on the same day. Polonsky's documents were rejected because the initiative group did not have enough members. In addition, his past criminal conviction prevented him from becoming a candidate. At the same time, Polonsky announced the creation of a political party "For All" with which he intended to participate in 2021 legislative election, and will run for President in 2024. However, the party did not participate in the 2021 election, and changes to the Russian constitution in 2020 barred Polonsky from running for president in 2024 due to him obtaining Cambodian citizenship.


Awards and prizes

* Merit badge of Honorary Russian Builder * The Construction Olympus – 2002 award in the personal category "Manager of Complete-Cycle Construction Company" * Personal golden medal, diploma and personal badge of honor of the French National Association for National Industry Support ( Societe d’Encouragement pour L’Industrie Nationale, SPI)


Educational initiatives and volunteer work

* In March 2008, Polonsky refused to defend his doctorate thesis in the State Commission for Academic Degrees and Titles and organized a public defense in his blog. * Polonsky arranges regular master classes for university students (MSU, MGIMO, HSE, MFPA, and others) and lectures for the Nazvanie.NET personnel. The most popular topics of his master classes and lectures are enterprising, personal development and success strategies in business. * Starting from the 2009–10 academic year, Polonsky is the chairman of the Management in Development Business Department set up under the agreement with the Moscow Finance and Industry Academy for training young specialists for the benefit of construction companies. * In 2002 Polonsky was elected Senator and president of the International Chamber of Youth. In certain periods, Polonsky was a member of various voluntary associations: in 2001–2005, he was a member of the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Mayor and Government of Moscow, and in 2001–2010 he was a member of the "Business Russia" organization of entrepreneurs. In 2003, Polonsky was elected vice president of the Russian Academy of Business and Enterprising, in 2004, he became Vice President of the public association of professional managers, the International Club of the Best Managers of the New Era. In 2005, Polonsky was one of those who established the Russian Builders' Association, and until now remains its first vice president.


Space travel

In 2004 Polonsky prepared for a
spaceflight Spaceflight (or space flight) is an application of astronautics to fly objects, usually spacecraft, into or through outer space, either with or without humans on board. Most spaceflight is uncrewed and conducted mainly with spacecraft such ...
to the
International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was Assembly of the International Space Station, assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United ...
,Russian millionaire rejected for space ride
NBC News (20 August 2004).
completing a full cosmonaut training course. The flight did not take place, however; because of his height, there was not enough room for his legs under the console, which could have led to injury as the spacecraft landed.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Polonsky, Sergei Living people 1972 births Businesspeople from Saint Petersburg Saint-Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering alumni