A Thai prosecutor's office has dropped a child molestation charge against acclaimed Russian pianist and conductor Mikhail Pletnev, Pletnev's lawyer said on Tuesday.
"No charges will be brought against Pletnev anymore. All the legal procedures are finished towards him. I have received a Thai prosecutor's office's decree," the lawyer said, citing the prosecutor's office of Thai Chon Buri Province as saying.
"I am absolutely convinced of my innocence that is why I did not hesitate for a minute about the result of the investigation. Now, when everything is over, I can only say that money was behind the attempts to trump up a case against me," Pletnev said.
Pletnev, the Russian National Orchestra (RNO) conductor, was charged with sodomizing a 14-year-old boy in July and could have faced up to 20 years behind bars if he had been found guilty. He persistently denied all charges.
During the investigation, the musician had to return to the resort town of Pattaya every 12 days to renew his $9,000 bail. The bail restrictions, which prohibited him from traveling abroad, have been lifted.
The Russian musician, who established the RNO in 1990, owns a small piece of property in Pattaya and spends several weeks there each year.
BANGKOK, December 28 (RIA Novosti)
