MOSCOW, April 2 - RAPSI. Real estate magnate Sergei Polonsky will be released from prison in Cambodia soon, but he will be required to stay in the country, State Duma Deputy Alexei Chepa, a Russia-Cambodia Commission member, told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.

Once one of Russia's wealthiest men, Polonsky was detained alongside Konstantin Baglay and Alexander Karachinsky on Dec. 30, 2012 for attacking the six-person crew of a boat ferrying them from a Cambodian island to the mainland. The three Russians allegedly threatened the crew at knifepoint and locked them in a cabin.

The Cambodian Justice Ministry will decide on when Polonsky will be released, Chepa said, adding that the issue falls within the ministry's competence.

The lawmaker stressed that he personally wrote the Cambodian government in regards to the case. The intergovernmental commission is presently operating in Cambodia and has asked the Justice Ministry to help resolve Polonsky's situation.

At the same time, Chepa said, after analyzing the case, it became apparent that Polonsky has made every effort to prevent himself from being released. The media and bloggers have circulated Polonsky's statements that no one is trying to help him. "According to the prison administration, he has been behaving so as to prolong his imprisonment. At the same time, he is accusing the Russian authorities of failing to come to his assistance," Chepa said.