Hermitage Capital condemns Russian authorities over Magnitsky case

Interfax

Hermitage Capital, an investment fund, has expressed outrage by the statement made by the Russian Foreign Ministry, which likened the proposal by U.S. lawmakers to impose sanctions against Russian officials in connection with the case of Hermitage lawyer Sergei Magnitsky with a Cold War element.

“Calling ‘a political show’ the efforts by human rights campaigners, public figures and statesmen to achieve justice with respect to the late Magnitsky is the ultimate in cynicism,” the company said in a statement issued on Sunday.

“The fact that almost a year since Magnitsky’s death no official has been made responsible for taking his life is beyond the bounds of decency and human morality,” it said.

“Those caught stealing billions of rubles from their fellow countrymen are still at large and receive promotions,” the statement said

Last Friday the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the proposal by U.S. lawmakers to impose sanctions against Russian officials over the Magnitsky case was beyond the bounds of decency.

“This initiative by the Congress members is bewildering and regretful, to say the least. Not only does it not resonate with the current level of cooperation between our countries, evoking associations of the Cold War era, it is also beyond the bounds of elementary decency,” the ministry said in a commentary.

“What happened to Magnitsky is really a tragedy, no matter what the accusations were,” the ministry said. “The circumstances in which he died became a subject of a serious investigation,” it said.

“But making a political show out of it is simply unworthy. Such games by U.S. lawmakers, while being definitely unhelpful in the quest for truth, produce a serious irritant in our relations, undermining our bilateral cooperation between law enforcement agencies in important areas such as countering international organized crime, terrorism, drug trafficking and today’s other threats,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

Hermitage Capital said earlier that one of the authors of the bill banning entry to the U.S. for Russian officials involved in the death of fund lawyer Magnitsky is Republican Senator John McCain.

“One of the leaders of the U.S. Republic Party McCain and Democratic Senator Benjamin Cardin co-authored a bill imposing a full ban on the entry to the U.S. and the seizure of assets of the persons involved in the persecutions and tortures which led to Magnitsky’s death,” the company said in a press release earlier.

The 37-year-old Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was charged with tax evasion (Article 199 of the Russian Penal Code), died at the Matrosskaya Tishina prison on November 16, 2009.

His death prompted a broad public outcry. Human rights activists said that there was no actual investigation in the Magnitsky case.

The Russian Investigative Committee launched a criminal investigation into the Magnitsky death on charges of failure to help an ailing person and neglect (Article 124 and Article 293 of the Russian Penal Code, respectively). payday loan займы на карту срочно https://zp-pdl.com/get-quick-online-payday-loan-now.php https://zp-pdl.com/best-payday-loans.php payday loan