Depardieu accused of breaking Georgian law with Abkhazia trip

TBILISI (Reuters) - French-born actor Gerard Depardieu broke the law in Georgia by visiting the country's breakaway Abkhazia region and meeting separatist leaders without warning national authorities, an official said on Wednesday.

Ketevan Tsikhelashvili, deputy minister for reintegration in the Caucasus state bordering Russia, said the action was punishable but signaled he was unlikely to face arrest.

"We think he does not know what's going on in Abkhazia," she said.

The 64-year-old star of films such as "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac" was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin in January after criticizing a planned 75-percent tax on millionaires in France.

Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and the separatist region of South Ossetia after waging a five-day war with Georgia in August 2008. Georgia and most other countries do not recognize them as independent states.

Depardieu also raised eyebrows by visiting Russia's Chechnya region in February and embracing strongman leader Ramzan Kadyrov. Human rights groups have accused security services in Chechnya of carrying out kidnappings, torture and extrajudicial killings to try to quash an Islamist insurgency. Kadyrov denies the charges.

France's best-known actor, whose lifestyle and outlandish behavior has made more headlines than his film career in recent years, was bitterly criticized for abandoning his homeland when he received a hug and a passport from Putin.

But Depardieu, who owns a vineyard in the Loire valley, has said he did not leave for tax reasons. He has been filming a thriller called "Turquoise" in Moscow and Chechnya with British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

(Reporting by Margarita Antidze; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Ralph Boulton)

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French actor Depardieu in minor car collision in Moscow

MOSCOW (Reuters) - French actor Gerard Depardieu was involved in a car accident in Moscow on Tuesday when a taxi rammed into a Mercedes carrying him in his adopted homeland of Russia, where he is filming a movie.

The 64-year-old star of films such as "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac" was unhurt and posed for photos with Russian traffic police in footage shown by tabloid portal Lifenews.ru.

Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin in January after criticizing a planned 75-percent tax on millionaires in France, appears not to have been behind the wheel during the Moscow accident.

He was banned from driving for six months by a French court earlier this month, after he was found to be three times over the alcohol limit when he fell from a scooter last year.

France's best-known actor, whose lifestyle and outlandish behavior has made more headlines than his film career in recent years, was bitterly criticized for abandoning his homeland when he received a hug and a passport from Putin. But Depardieu, who owns a vineyard in the Loire valley, has said he did not leave for tax reasons.

Last year's scooter fall came a few months after a car driver filed a suit against Depardieu for assault and battery following an altercation in Paris.

A year earlier, Depardieu outraged passengers by urinating in the aisle of an Air France flight as it prepared to take off.

Depardieu is currently filming a thriller called "Turquoise" in Moscow and Russia's southern province of Chechnya with British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here

French actor Depardieu in minor car collision in Moscow

MOSCOW (Reuters) - French actor Gerard Depardieu was involved in a car accident in Moscow on Tuesday when a taxi rammed into a Mercedes carrying him in his adopted homeland of Russia, where he is filming a movie.

The 64-year-old star of films such as "Green Card" and "Cyrano de Bergerac" was unhurt and posed for photos with Russian traffic police in footage shown by tabloid portal Lifenews.ru.

Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin in January after criticizing a planned 75-percent tax on millionaires in France, appears not to have been behind the wheel during the Moscow accident.

He was banned from driving for six months by a French court earlier this month, after he was found to be three times over the alcohol limit when he fell from a scooter last year.

France's best-known actor, whose lifestyle and outlandish behavior has made more headlines than his film career in recent years, was bitterly criticized for abandoning his homeland when he received a hug and a passport from Putin. But Depardieu, who owns a vineyard in the Loire valley, has said he did not leave for tax reasons.

Last year's scooter fall came a few months after a car driver filed a suit against Depardieu for assault and battery following an altercation in Paris.

A year earlier, Depardieu outraged passengers by urinating in the aisle of an Air France flight as it prepared to take off.

Depardieu is currently filming a thriller called "Turquoise" in Moscow and Russia's southern province of Chechnya with British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

(Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel, editing by Paul Casciato)

View the original article here