Support The Moscow Times!

Russian Police Release French Musician Detained on Extortion Charges

Police officers and French musician Didier Marouani (C) after he was detained in a Sberbank branch. Artyom Geodakyan / TASS

Moscow police have released Didier Marouani, frontman of the French musical group Space, and his Russian lawyer, Igor Trunov, from custody, the Interfax news agency reported Wednesday. 

The pair were detained Tuesday night after notorious Russian pop singer Filipp Kirkorov pressed extortion charges against them. 

“At 5 a.m., Marouani and Trunov returned home. Police officers apologized to them,” Trunov’s lawyer, Lyudmila Aivar, told Interfax. Law enforcement has decided not to open a criminal case against them, she added. 

Marouani and Trunov were arrested at a Moscow bank, where they were supposed to meet Kirkorov to sign a settlement agreement. According to Trunov, Kirkorov agreed to pay Marouani 1 million euros for plagiarizing his music. Kirkorov, in turn, insisted that Marouani came to Moscow in order to extort this money from him. Accusations of plagiarism were slander, he said.

Kirkorov’s lawyer, Alexander Dobrovinsky, told Interfax there were no plans to settle. Instead, the Russian singer brought extortion charges against Marouani. 

“We participated in a sting operation,” Dobrovinsky said. According to Dobrovinsky, he and Kirkorov arrived at the bank on Tuesday evening and gave Marouani and Trunov the first part of the 1 million euros. After this, Marouani and Trunov were immediately arrested by police.

… we have a small favor to ask.

As you may have heard, The Moscow Times, an independent news source for over 30 years, has been unjustly branded as a "foreign agent" by the Russian government. This blatant attempt to silence our voice is a direct assault on the integrity of journalism and the values we hold dear.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. Our commitment to providing accurate and unbiased reporting on Russia remains unshaken. But we need your help to continue our critical mission.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just 2. It's quick to set up, and you can be confident that you're making a significant impact every month by supporting open, independent journalism. Thank you.

Continue

Read more