Prostitution: Tycoon nabbed
2007-01-11 14:42
Lyon, France - A billionaire Russian businessman has been arrested along with 25 others in connection with a suspected prostitution ring in the exclusive French ski resort of Courchevel, a prosecutor said on Thursday.
Fifty police officers carried out a raid on Tuesday at the hotel where Mikhail Prokhorov, the chairperson of the metals giant Norilsk Nickel, was staying along with a group of Russian businessmen to celebrate the Eastern Orthodox New Year.
Several young women were among those arrested in the Alpine resort but all have since been released, according to the state prosecutor in the central-eastern city of Lyon, Xavier Richaud.
Prokhorov, 41, who ranks 89th on Forbes magazine's list of the world's richest people, remained in custody along with several other businessmen, who were expected to be brought before a state prosecutor late on Thursday or Friday.
Richaud said that investigators had yet to confirm that prostitution was definitely involved in the case, and were proceeding with "caution".