Attempted theft of $21.5 million from the Russian budget by the same criminals

The same criminal group has made two attempts to steal an additional $21.5 million from the Russian Government since 21 April, 2009. The attempts have been reported several times and so far, over a year later, the Russian Government has not opened an investigation and is doing nothing to stop this theft from occurring.

In August of 2009 Mr. Jamison Firestone, Sergei Magnitsky’s boss, was notified by the Moscow Tax Inspectorate that someone had forged his signature to amended tax returns for one of his client’s companies and tried to obtain a fraudulent refund of $21.5 million in tax previously paid by that client. Tax reporting documents for this company had been taken by officer Kuznetsov in the same raid where he took the Hermitage Fund documents. At the time of the attempted theft of $21.5 million the tax reporting documents for this company were in the custody of officers Kuznetsov and Karpov in the Interior Ministry. These are the same two officers who Sergei Magnitsky accused of being involved in using the Hermitage Fund documents and seals in their possession to help steal the Hermitage Fund companies and using them to obtain fraudulent tax refunds of $230 million.

Mr. Firestone reported the attempted theft to the Moscow Branch of the Interior Ministry in a formal complaint filed on August 10, 2009 requesting to open a criminal investigation. When the statutory three-day deadline for a reply had elapsed and they failed to reply or open an investigation after two months, Mr. Firestone complained to the General Prosecutor’s Office and asked them to investigate the attempt of the criminal group to perpetrate a further theft of budget funds. In his complaint, Mr Firestone also requested the General Prosecutor Office to intervene and stop the persecutory criminal case against Sergei Magnitsky and release him from pre-trial detention where he had been placed by officers he accused of crimes against the Russian people. However, Mr. Andrei Pechegin, Deputy Chief of the Department for Supervision of the Investigation of Very Important Cases at the General Prosecutor Office, apparently did not feel that the case was very important (even though the same criminal group had already stolen $500 million from the State and even though they had detained Sergei Magnitsky for reporting the crime, and even though Sergei Magnitsky was dying in pre-trial detention).

Mr. Pechegin did nothing and Sergei Magnitsky was dead within a month and the criminals then made a second attempt to steal the money.

In late December of 2009 Mr. Jamison Firestone was notified by the Moscow Tax Inspectorate that the criminals had made a second attempt, just days after Sergei Magnitsky’s death in November of 2009, to steal the $21.5 million. Mr. Firestone decided not to return to Russia after the New Year’s holiday fearing that the corrupt Interior Ministry Officers would try and arrest him just as they had tried to arrest every other lawyer who had reported their thefts from the government. Nevertheless, he filed a complaint on January 14, 2010, the first working day of the year in Russia, with the Russian Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor Office reporting this 2nd attempted theft of government money. To date, 14 months and two attempts later, the Russian government has still not opened a case to try and prevent the theft of $21.5 million of government money.

Complaints filed to prevent the theft of an additional $21.5 million from the Russian Treasury:

• Application to open criminal case into the attempted theft of $21.5 million of budget funds filed by Jamison Firestone with the Moscow Branch of Interior Ministry (10 August 2009)
• Complaint filed by Jamison Firestone with the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office re. Magnitsky’s unlawful detention and the attack made on Firestone and one of his client’s companies by the criminals who attempted to steal an additional $21.5 million from the government (5 October 2009)
• Answer from Mr. Andrei Pechegin of the General Prosecutor’s Office to Jamison Firestone’s 5 October 2009 complaint made without an investigation claiming that there are no violations in the Magnitsky’s case (Magnitsky was dead within a month). The rest of the complaint about the attempt to steal $21.5 million from the State was not investigated (27 October 2009).
• Complaint filed by Jamison Firestone with the Investigative Committee of the General Prosecutor’s Office re. the criminals’ second attempt to steal the $21.5 million from the government (14 January 2010).
• Answer to Jamison Firestone’s 14 January 2010 complaint to the Investigatory Committee of the General Prosecutor’s Office re. the criminals’ second attempt to steal an additional $21.5 million from the government. Government still thinking whether to investigatesays(13 May 2010) Application to start criminal case filed by Jamison Firestone to the Moscow Branch of Interior Ministry (10 August 2009)

An application by Jamison Firestone to the Moscow Branch of the Interior Ministry asking to open a criminal investigation into an attempt to defraud the Russian government of $21.5 million in tax receipts paid by one of his clients’ companies. Tax documents for this company were seized by officer Artem Kuznetsov in June of 2007 and were in the custody of officers Artem Kuznetsov and Pavel Karpov at the time of this attempted theft from the Russian government.

 Complaint to General Prosecutor’s Office Jamison Firestone re. Magnitsky’s Detention and the attack made on Firestone and one of his client’s companies by the criminals who attempted to steal an additional $21.5 million from the government (5 October 2009).
The complaint goes into great detail of how officers Kuznetsov and Karpov used Hermitage documents taken from Firestone’s office to steal 3 companies and rob the budget of $230 million. It details how the officers involved in this theft falsely arrested Sergei Magnitsky after he testified against them and it details his inhumane conditions in pretrial detention including that he is not receiving necessary medical treatment. It also explains that the same criminal group made an attempt to steal an additional $21.5 million from the Government in August of 2009 by using another’s company’s documents which were taken from Firestone’s office by officer Kuznetsov. Mr. Firestone explains that he discovered and reported the attempted theft from the government in August and that no action was taken during the previous 2 months and he requests an investigation of this attempted theft from the government.

Answer from Mr. Andrei Pechegin the General Prosecutor’s ffice made without an investigation claiming that there are no violations in the Magnitsky case. (Magnitsky was dead within a month) The rest of the complaint about to steal $21.5 million from the State was not investigated. (272009).
On 26 October 2009, the day before this answer was sent, the US Ambassador met with Alexander Bastrykin, the Head of the Investigative Committee of the General Prosecutor’s Office regarding Magnitsky’s detention and this attempt made by criminals to steal an additional 21.5 million from the Russian government. Mr. Bastrykin said that he would have the case investigated if it was sent to his department. However, Mr. Andrei Pechegin, Deputy Chief of the Department for Supervision of the Investigation of Very Important Cases did not forward the case to Mr. Bastrykin and instead refused to investigate. Mr. Pechegin’s answer says the case against Magnitsky was opened under section 146 of the Criminal code. That Magnitsky and Browder have been indicted under section 171 of the code and that there are no violations of the criminal code in this case. It is clear from the time between the complaint and it answer that Mr. Pechegin did not investigate the complaint and Magnitsky was dead less than a month from the date of Mr. Pechegin’s reply. As for the rest of the complaint about the same criminal group trying to steal an additional $21.5 million from the budget, Mr Pechegin sent that part of the complaint onwards to a very low level and it was never investigated. As of June 2010, over 10 months have passed since Mr. Firestone reported this attempted theft, the criminals have since made a second attempt to steal the $21.5 million from the government and there is still no investigation open to try and prevent this theft from occurring.