Moscow court finds Magnitsky guilty of tax evasion
The Tverskoy District Court in Moscow has convicted the late British Hermitage Capital Fund auditor Sergei Magnitsky of tax evasion, RAPSI reports from the courtroom on Thursday.
During Wednesday’s hearing, the state prosecutor asked the court to convict Magnitsky of tax evasion but to dismiss the case against him due to his death. Magnitsky died in a Moscow remand center in 2009.
Hermitage Capital maintains that it paid 5.4 billion rubles ($180 million) in taxes, but the money was stolen by corporate raiders with the help of law enforcement officials.
Magnitsky, who died in pretrial detention in Moscow in 2009, was prosecuted for this theft. The case was closed after his death, only to be reopened later. Under Russian law, a person can be prosecuted after their death. займ на карту без отказов круглосуточно займ на карту https://zp-pdl.com/apply-for-payday-loan-online.php https://zp-pdl.com/online-payday-loans-cash-advances.php payday loan
Magnitsky Found Guilty In Posthumous Trial; Ex-Boss Also Convicted
A Moscow court has found late whistle-blowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and his former boss guilty of tax evasion.
Magnitsky, who represented the Hermitage Capital investment fund, died in pretrial detention at age 37 after being allegedly beaten and denied medical treatment.
It is the first time Russia has put a dead man on trial, deepening concerns over human rights and the rule of law in the country.
Magnitsky was accused of tax evasion in 2008 after exposing a $230 million tax scam implicating Russian police and government officials. The case against him was organized by some of the same officials he exposed.
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DEAD RUSSIAN LAWYER MAGNITSKY FOUND GUILTY
More than three years after he died in prison, whistle-blowing Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was found guilty of tax evasion by a Moscow court Wednesday.
The posthumous trial of Magnitsky was a macabre chapter in a case that ignited a high-emotion dispute between Russia and Washington that has included U.S. sanctions against Russians deemed to be human rights violators, a ban on the adoption of Russian children by U.S. citizens and calls for the closure of Russian non-governmental organizations receiving American funding.
Magnitsky was a lawyer for U.S.-born British investor William Browder when he alleged in 2008 that organized criminals colluded with corrupt Interior Ministry officials to claim a fraudulent $230 million tax rebate after illegally seizing subsidiaries of Browder’s Hermitage Capital investment company.
He subsequently was arrested on tax evasion charges and died in prison in November 2009 of untreated pancreatitis at age 37.
His death prompted widespread criticism from human rights activists and the presidential human rights council found in 2011 that he had been beaten and deliberately denied medical treatment.
Announcing his verdict Thursday, Judge Igor Alisov said “Magnitsky masterminded a massive tax evasion scheme in a … conspiracy with a group of people,” according to the ITAR-Tass news agency.
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Russia finds Magnitsky posthumously guilty of fraud
The late Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky has been found guilty of tax fraud by a Moscow court.
Magnitsky was arrested in 2008 after accusing officials of tax fraud, but was later himself accused of the crime.
His death in custody a year later led to a major diplomatic dispute between Russia and the United States.
In the same trial, William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management which Magnitsky represented, was also found guilty of tax fraud.
Browder was convicted in absentia, and sentenced to nine years.
The London-based hedge fund manager has denied the charges and said the trial was politically motivated. His defence team have said they will appeal against the verdict.
In a statement, he said the verdict “will go down in history as one of the most shameful moments for Russia since the days of Joseph Stalin”.
“The desperation behind this move shows the lengths that Putin is ready to go and to retaliate against anyone who expose the stealing and corruption he presides over,” he said.
No sentence will be passed for Magnitsky, whose relatives regard the case as illegal.
A lawyer for the family told Russia’s Rapsi news agency: “I did not doubt that the decision would look like this.”
“I know that he committed no crimes.”
It is believed to be the first time in Soviet or Russian history that a defendant was tried posthumously.
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Press Release: The case for a British Magnitsky Act
Campaigners urging the British Government to adopt stringent sanctions against Russian officials suspected of torture and corruption have renewed their call for action, as a new poll reveals overwhelming public support for the measure.
Despite two European Parliament resolutions calling for member states to impose visa sanctions and asset freezes on Russian officials involved in the arrest, torture and death of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, as yet the Government has failed to follow the lead of the US in passing the Magnitsky Act, which places travel and financial sanctions on those suspected of crime and human rights abuses in Russia and names those involved in a public US Government listing.
Parliamentarians and campaigners have said the failure to bring about a British law similar to the Magnitsky Act undermines David Cameron’s call at the G8 Summit for a crackdown on tax transparency and has enabled corrupt officials to do business freely and with impunity in the UK.
A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society think tank has revealed the vast majority of the British public would support legislation to refuse visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials who are believed to be involved in corruption, torture and human rights.
Key results of the survey of 1,860 people include:
·Overall, almost three quarters of those polled (72 per cent) said they would support a British Magnitsky Act, compared with just six per cent who would oppose such a measure. This rises to 78 per cent of Conservative voters.
·72 per cent of people believe corruption in Russia is widespread, with four per cent believing it is not widespread.
·Just 14 per cent of those polled believe the British Government is doing as much as could be reasonably expected to stop money from Russian crime and corruption entering the UK. 46 per cent of Conservative voters and 49 per cent of Labour voters believe the Government should be doing more.
Executive Director of the Henry Jackson Society Dr Alan Mendoza said: “We in the West have a responsibility to halt the spread of human rights crimes and corruption in the Russian political system.
“The inaction of the British Government in bringing about a law which would rightly place sanctions on those suspected of serious human rights abuses makes a mockery of our ability to pose as champions of freedom and liberty.”
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UK poll shows ‘huge’ public support for Magnitsky sanctions against Russian officials
A new poll reveals overwhelming public support in the UK for sanctions against Russian officials suspected of torture and corruption.
Campaigners have pressed the British government to follow the US precedent by passing a version of the Magnitsky Act, which imposes travel and financial sanctions on officials suspected of human rights violations in Russia and publicly names those culpable in a government listing.
A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Henry Jackson Society think tank shows that the vast majority of the British public would support legislation to refuse visas and freeze the assets of Russian officials believed to be involved in corruption, torture and human rights violations.
Key results of the survey of 1,860 people include:
· Overall, almost three quarters of those polled (72 per cent) said they would support a British Magnitsky Act, compared with just six per cent who would oppose such a measure. This rises to 78 per cent of Conservative voters.
· 72 per cent of people believe corruption in Russia is widespread, with four per cent believing it is not widespread.
· Just 14 per cent of those polled believe the British Government is doing as much as could be reasonably expected to stop money from Russian crime and corruption entering the UK. 46 per cent of Conservative voters and 49 per cent of Labour voters believe the Government should be doing more.
“The UK poll shows that British government should do much more than they have already done to ban corrupt Russian officials and human rights abusers,” said William Browder, Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management and former client of Sergei Magnitsky (above).
The Sergei Magnitsky Act was named for the tax lawyer arrested in 2008 after revealing that Russian officials had orchestrated a tax refund fraud to transfer $230m of state funds to a criminal syndicate. He died in jail after being assaulted and denied medical treatment.
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No notification regarding Magnitsky list from London – Russian FM
Russia has not received an official notification from the UK authorities on banning Russian officials on the US Magnitsky List from entering the UK, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.
“We have not received any official notifications to this effect from the UK authorities,” he said at a joint news conference following his talks with Romanian Foreign Minister Titus Corlatean.
Lavrov added that “the UK authorities have said more than once that they do not intend to compile similar lists.”
“A provocation cannot be ruled out, because there are many high-profile issues in the European and global media space from which some people would like to create a diversion,” the Russian Foreign Minister said.
According to the Daily Telegraph, the UK Home Office has banned 60 Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 from entering the UK.
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Human right activist supports British ban on Russians on Magnitsky List
Russian veteran human rights defender, Moscow Helsinki Group (MHG) head Lyudmila Alexeyeva has supported the British ban on 60 Russians on the Magnitsky List from entering the UK.”
Certainly, I would like people involved in the Magnitsky case to be punished here, in Russia. That would have displayed our wish to become a democracy, put an end to violations of human rights and have fair trials,” Alexeyeva told Interfax on Tuesday.
“Yet this is not happening. Let them be punished at least on the international level,” the human rights activist said.
“The British decision is very painful. For our rich love for visiting the UK,” Alexeyeva said.
The Home Office barred 60 Russians on the Magnitsky List from entering the UK, The Daily Telegraph said.It said the barring of the Russians was contained in a response in April to a written inquiry from Conservative MP Dominic Raab if any of the Russians on the Magnitsky List visited the UK last year.
The Home Office said it was aware of the people on the Magnitsky List and had taken measures to deny them British visas.
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Russians linked to Sergei Magnitsky case banned from entering UK
The Home Office has barred 60 Russian nationals linked to the Sergei Magnitsky whistleblower case from travelling to the UK.
Mr Magnitsky, a lawyer who worked for London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital Management, died in a Moscow jail in 2009 after accusing senior Russian police officers of organising a $230m (£153m) fraud in league with tax officials. He died after being beaten and denied medical treatment for pancreatitis.
The Home Office issued the bans after the Commission on Security and Co-operation in Europe published a list of the 60 officials in June last year, Telegraph.co.uk has learned.
The move is likely to prompt retaliation from the Kremlin, which banned American parents from adopting Russian children in reprisal agaisnt the US issuing visa bans and freezing the assets of some of the officials implicated in the case.
The Home Office’s barring of the Russian 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 had visited the UK in the last year.
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To learn more about what happened to Sergei Magnitsky please read below
- Sergei Magnitsky
- Why was Sergei Magnitsky arrested?
- Sergei Magnitsky’s torture and death in prison
- President’s investigation sabotaged and going nowhere
- The corrupt officers attempt to arrest 8 lawyers
- Past crimes committed by the same corrupt officers
- Petitions requesting a real investigation into Magnitsky's death
- Worldwide reaction, calls to punish those responsible for corruption and murder
- Complaints against Lt.Col. Kuznetsov
- Complaints against Major Karpov
- Cover up
- Press about Magnitsky
- Bloggers about Magnitsky
- Corrupt officers:
- Sign petition
- Citizen investigator
- Join Justice for Magnitsky group on Facebook
- Contact us
- Sergei Magnitsky
