Browder (Once Again) Demands Answers Over Magnitsky Death

Wall Street Journal

Another year at Davos, and another year for Bill Browder to pay the exorbitant delegate fee for the sole purpose of asking the Russian government when it will prosecute the people who killed his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky.

Once again, it was Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov in the awkward position of taking the question. And although the session was off-the-record (after a widely-viewed embarrassment on-the-record last year), we can say with confidence that there were no surprises in his answer. Mr. Browder certainly wasn’t impressed.

“The only answer can be that…the people who killed Sergei Magnitsky are prosecuted. If they’re not, any waffling and wobbling and excuses mean nothing to the world,” he said outside the room.

Mr. Magnitsky’s death in custody two years ago, after being beaten up and denied medical treatment, has become a cause celebre in Russia, an example of the systemic corruption and abuse of power that have driven tens of thousands on to the streets in Moscow in recent weeks to protest.

Although an inquiry commissioned by President Dmitry Medvedev has said the people involved should be prosecuted, no charges have been brought, and the Interior Ministry has on its own initiative exonerated all of the officials concerned.

But Mr. Browder, the CEO of investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, isn’t without friends.

Alcoa Inc CEO Klaus Kleinfeld, also on the panel, beat Mr. Browder to mentioning the Magnitsky case in his opening remarks (without any prompting, Mr. Browder says). More importantly, the U.S. government has already imposed visa restrictions on some of the 60 officials implicated in the case, which also encompasses allegations of fraud and embezzlement. Nine European countries are considering whether to follow suit.

In three months, Russia will have a new president to pursue the findings of the commission, but as that will mostly likely Vladimir Putin. Mr. Browder isn’t holding his breath.

“It’s pretty clear to us that a decision has been made including the President and the Prime Minister to exonerate all the officials who killed Sergei Magnitsky and then to persecute Sergei Magnitsky’s family,” he says.

“I have no confidence in any member of the current regime in pursuing a fair prosecution in this case.” hairy girl hairy women https://zp-pdl.com/best-payday-loans.php https://zp-pdl.com/how-to-get-fast-payday-loan-online.php hairy woman