Posts Tagged ‘benjamin cardin’
No Entry: Will Congress take a tough line on human rights abusers in Russia?
In 2007, a Russian businessman named Oleg Derapaska applied for a multiple-entry visa to enter the United States. Derapaska certainly had some impressive credentials—he is one of the richest men in Russia, with a fortune of $10.7 billion as of 2010, which he made initially by cornering Russia’s aluminum market. He is well traveled, and is the owner of a £25 million home in the Belgravia neighborhood of London. The State Department nevertheless turned him down (though it did grant him a one-time entry visa in 2009). Derapaska’s visa troubles stemmed from allegations that he also has close ties to Russia’s mafia, according to the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets. Although he has been seeking the multiple-entry visa ever since—last year, the Russian foreign ministry even hired the Endeavor Group, the same lobbying firm that represents Angelina Jolie, to help secure him one—so far his efforts have been futile.
Read More →
Facebook
Twitter
Google Buzz
LinkedIn
del.icio.us
Google Bookmarks
Yahoo! Buzz
Tumblr
StumbleUpon
FriendFeed
NewsVine
Digg
Some EU countries ready to impose sanctions on Russian officials who could be involved in Magnitsky case
Interfax
Some EU countries are considering introducing sanctions on Russian officials who could be responsible for the death of Hermitage Foundation lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
“The foreign ministers of some EU countries are ready to take practical measures and decisions in this area,” European Parliamentarian Heidi Hautala told a press conference at the Interfax central office on Monday.
The statement on the possible sanctions made in the European parliament became a powerful signal to the entire EU to take decisive measures, she said.
Read More →
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google Buzz
- LinkedIn
- del.icio.us
- Google Bookmarks
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Tumblr
- StumbleUpon
- FriendFeed
- NewsVine
- Digg
Biden Decries Russian Corruption During Visit
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told a university audience here Thursday that “only bold and genuine change” on corruption, the rule of law and democracy in Russia will guarantee improved economic relations between the former Cold War superpowers.
Speaking at Moscow State University on a weeklong European swing, he addressed what he called impediments to business investment, citing the case of Sergei Magnitsky, a lawyer who was arrested and died in custody in 2009 after accusing the police of corruption; demonstrators who were beaten and detained last year while advocating for the right to peacefully assemble; and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian oligarch whose second trial on new charges of embezzlement and money laundering was clouded with allegations of misconduct.
Read More →
- Facebook
- Twitter
- Google Buzz
- LinkedIn
- del.icio.us
- Google Bookmarks
- Yahoo! Buzz
- Tumblr
- StumbleUpon
- FriendFeed
- NewsVine
- Digg
