[1] He was one of the richest men in Russia[citation needed] before the 2007–2008 financial crisis 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 [citation needed] Polonsky was born 1 December 1972 in Leningrad, Soviet Union (now Saint Petersburg, Russia).

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 and Georgia in the combat zone at Tskhinvali.

In 2008 Polonsky attempted doctoral, but, considering the academic council biased, he withdrew the work and posted the text of the thesis for an open discussion on the Internet.

[citation needed] Stroymontazh was a construction and real estate firm set up with the initial intention of selling apartments that they had plastered and finished.

[citation needed] The company rapidly amassed wealth and made a name for itself as one of Saint Petersburg's largest developers, eventually building Petrovsky Fort, a 540,000-square-foot complex that became the standard for business centers in the former capital.

The towers have 4.5 million square feet of high-end office space, luxury apartments, shops, restaurants, and a 44-story Grand Hyatt hotel.

[6] 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.

[11] 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.

Polonsky suggested a comfortable "town within the city" living concept where high-rise residential buildings are mixed with a cottage village named "Y".

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.

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.

According to Anton Chernigovsky, who wrote the article "Polonsky Makes a Demarche"[13] published in the Business Magazine, "his competitors kept arguing zestfully that real estate was the last thing to be threatened by the crisis.

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.

'[16] In February 2011, Sberbank of Russia (Savings Bank of the Russian Federation) decided to grant Mirax Group a $373 million credit for six years.

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."

[19] Subsequently, in September 2012, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (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.

[22] 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.

[23] 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.

[24] 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, a rival property developer with close ties to the Russian president Vladimir Putin[18] In late 2012, Sergei Polonsky and two other Russians – Konstantin Baglay and Alexander Karachinsky – were arrested by the Cambodian police.

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.

[29] 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".

[30][31] In March 2015, Polonsky announced plans for a $1 billion lawsuit against U.S. filmmaker 20th Century Fox because of similarities between himself and a villain in one of the studio's films.

[citation needed] 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.

[37] 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.