BANGKOK, January 7 (RIA Novosti) - Real-estate developer Sergei Polonsky and two other Russians face up to three years in prison if convicted by a Cambodian court, Russian Embassy said on Monday.

Polonsky, Konstantin Baglay and Alexander Karachinsky were detained by Cambodian officials on Sunday over an alleged attack on a six-man crew of a boat that carried them from an island to the mainland.

“The Russians have been charged with false imprisonment and inflicting or threatening injuries,” Russian diplomat in the embassy, Pavel Seskanov, told RIA Novosti. The charges carry imprisonment punishment ranging from one to three years in prison, he added.

The sailors claim the men threatened them at knifepoint, locked them in a cabin, and made them jump into the sea. Polonsky’s company representative maintained that the incident was the result of “misunderstanding” with the Cambodian militaries over fireworks launched by the Russians nearby a military base.

The suspects are staying under arrest in Sihanoukville. The three Russians were investors in a new local island resort, according to Reuters.

On Monday, Polonsky wrote in his Facebook that he will insist on his innocence.

“I will seek for a prosecutor’s inquiry. I could be free in 15 minutes if pleaded guilty. But I will walk free only after a complete acquittal, because I am NOT guilty,” he wrote.

Pononsky, who once headed the MiraxGroup construction company, made headlines in 2011 when he participated in talk show debate with Alexander Lebedev that descended into violence.