Britain Bans Entry to Russian Officials Linked to Magnitsky Case

Moscow Times

Britain has banned entry to 60 Russian officials implicated in the Sergei Magnitsky case, The Daily Telegraph reported.

A list drafted by the U.S. Helsinki Commission, chaired by Senator Benjamin Cardin, contained the names of officials suspected of being involved in a $230 million tax fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer for investment fund Hermitage Capital, or in Magnitsky’s death in prison in 2009.

The Magnitsky law was passed by the Senate in December and requires the White House to publish the names of those suspected of human rights violations, including those linked to the fraud uncovered by Magnitsky or to his death.

In April, the U.S. Treasury Department published a list 18 officials who are subject to visa bans and asset freezes in the United States.

The Home Office’s ban was contained in a previously unreported Parliamentary response in April to a written question from Dominic Raab.

Mr Raab, the Conservative MP for Esher & Walton, asked the Home Office if any of the 60 Russians named on the draft list had visited the UK in the last year.

In response, immigration minister Mark Harper said: “The Home Office Special Cases Directorate is already aware of the individuals on the list and has taken the necessary measures to prevent them being issued visas for travel to the UK.”

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says that Moscow has not received any official information from British authorities about the ban, adding that the reports could be an attempt at “provocation,” Interfax reported Tuesday. займ на карту займ на карту www.zp-pdl.com zp-pdl.com unshaven girls