In Moscow in absentia arrested the owner of the American Museum of Russian icons
MOSCOW, 4 Jul — RIA Novosti. The Tver court of Moscow arrested in absentia of the American businessman and collector Gordon Lenkton (Gordon B. Lankton) on charges of failure to return to Russia of cultural values, the official website of the court.
A “motion to remand granted,” — said in the card case.
According to the court, he was charged under article “failure to Return to the territory of the Russian Federation of cultural values” and faces up to eight years of imprisonment. The plot of the charges is not specified. In addition, Lenkton declared internationally wanted, told RIA Novosti the representative of the court.
Comments protection Agency does not yet have.
Gordon Lenkton owner located in Massachusetts of the “Museum of Russian icons”, the largest outside of Russia the collection of works of Russian icon painting school. The Museum grew from the private collection of the businessman, which he was collecting from the late 80-ies.
In 2011, the Museum held an exhibition of several dozen icons from the Russian Museum of Andrei Rublev, but it had to close four months early. Unconfirmed media icons appeared under the threat of arrest because of the situation around the library of Rabbi Joseph Schneerson, who in the last century was in Russia, but in 2010 the U.S. Supreme court at the suit of one of the organizations of the Hasidim affirmed their right to part of the library.
Because of these same fears arrest, Pushkin Museum im. Pushkin and the Hermitage refused to participate in the exhibition at the National gallery of Washington. The Russian foreign Ministry in turn said that the decision of the American court illegal and stated that Russia will not return anything.