MOSCOW, November 30 (RAPSI, Lyudmila Klenko) – Igor Trunov, the lawyer for the French musician Didier Marouani, said during a news conference on Wednesday that he had written a statement for the police demanding to open a criminal case against Russian pop star Filipp Kirkorov over false denunciation.

Marouani in turn announced that he is going to file claims with court against Kirkorov and his attorney Alexander Dobrovinsky, who, according to them, was an organizer of the provocation occurred on Tuesday evening.

On November 29, Dobrovinsky told RAPSI that Marouani and Trunov had been arrested by police on suspicion of extorting € 1 million from Kirkorov. 

According to lawyer Lyudmila Aivar, the wife of Trunov, the French musician and her husband were arrested Tuesday evening in a bank where they were to conclude an amicable agreement with Kirkorov in a copyright dispute. She said that Kirkorov and his lawyer offered € 1 million to Marouani as part of the settlement.

Kirkorov reportedly said on Tuesday that there was no settlement out of court and Marouani extorted money from him.

Marouani, who first came to a concert tour in the Soviet Union in 1983, has accused Kirkorov of plagiarism. The 63-year old artist claims that the Russian singer’s song called "Cruel Love" contains melody he composed earlier. The French star filed lawsuits with Russian courts over copyright infringement but they were dismissed.