Posts Tagged ‘shuvalov’
Russia, Davos and the rule of law
Financial Times
Planning to invest in Russia? Here’s a reason to think again, courtesy of our colleague Gideon Rachman, blogging from the World Economic Forum in Davos. Even Igor Shuvalov, Russia’s deputy prime minister (pictured), was unable to give potential investors the assurances they wanted when speaking about the notorious death in custody of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
Shuvalov, himself a lawyer, acknowledged that the case was “horrendous”, but blamed “the system”.
Rachman wrote on Friday in this FT’s Davos liveblog:
The question of what is, or is not, “on the record” at Davos remains a tricky one. Yesterday, I attended a Russia session that I was advertised as “off”. However, there were scores of people in the room, and I later discovered that several had tweeted or blogged about it. Now newspaper accounts are emerging. So let me belatedly join the party.
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Davos rolling blog: day 3
09.15: What happens in Davos stays in Davos… or not? Gideon Rachman attended a session yesterday on Russia, and part of the conversation there – while ostensibly “off the record” – is reverberating outside the meeting room:
The question of what is, or is not, “on the record” at Davos remains a tricky one. Yesterday, I attended a Russia session that I was advertised as “off”. However, there were scores of people in the room, and I later discovered that several had tweeted or blogged about it. Now newspaper accounts are emerging. So let me belatedly join the party.
The most gripping exchange came right at the end when Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital – once the biggest foreign investors in Russia and now a bitter critic – asked the panel about the notorious death in police custody of Sergei Magnitsky, his lawyer and auditor.
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Browder (Once Again) Demands Answers Over Magnitsky Death
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.
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Impudence and Impunity
Russia Profile.org
As Russia prepares for this year’s Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, the long-running saga of the Hermitage Capital Management will loom large in the minds of potential investors and could cast a shadow of uncertainty over Russia’s shaky investment climate. Last week, one of the individuals accused by the British hedge-fund firm of involvement in a $230 million tax scam, finally broke what looked like a sacred vow of silence.
In an interview with the Vedomosti business daily published on Friday, Vladlen Stepanov, the husband of a Russian tax official who allegedly embezzled millions through the tax rebate scam, denied any connection between his wealth and the fraud. He announced that he had filed a lawsuit to protect his honor, dignity and business reputation against the Echo of Moscow radio station, which aired the allegations, and against Jamison Firestone, a managing partner at Firestone Duncan who voiced them.
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David Cameron tackles Russians over Hermitage lawyer death
David Cameron has said he is “deeply concerned” by the death of London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital’s lawyer in Russian prison in 2009 and has promised to raise the case in on a state visit to the country.
In a letter written to Bill Browder, the boss of Hermitage, which was once Russia’s biggest equity fund, David Cameron said that the mystery surrounding the death of Sergei Magnitsky had “implications for the rule of law and respect for human rights in Russia”.
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Sergei Magnitsky and the Rule of Law in Russia
Earlier this week, in a Wall Street Journal interview about investing in Russia, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin surprised me. He cited my experience in Russia as an example of the strength of the Russian investment climate. Mr. Sechin argued that, based on the “economic efficiency” of my investments in Russia, I should be “a happy man.” While Mr. Sechin is correct that my investors realized significant returns on their investments in Russian equities, I would hope that no one ever has to endure the nightmare that my colleagues and I suffered in Russia after achieving this success.
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Medvedev Takes Pass in Davos on Rule of Law
President Dmitry Medvedev went to the World Economic Forum in Davos last week to woo global investors to Russia with claims of significant economic improvements on his watch.
He outlined an ambitious 10-step strategy to improve the investment climate in Russia. The laundry list of economic plans unveiled by the president included efforts to privatize dozens of state-owned companies, to create an international financial hub in Moscow and to set up a sovereign fund to reduce investor risks. Medvedev’s strategy is well-intentioned and competently crafted.
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DAVOS 2011: Bill Browder challenging Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov about Corruption in Russia and the Sergei Magnitsky case.
RUSSIA’S attempts to present itself as a modernising force and a good place for business came under sharp attack in Davos after Bill Browder took the deputy prime minister, Igor Shuvalov, to task in a private session.
Russia has taken a leading role at this year’s World Economic Forum, with President Dmitry Medvedev delivering the opening speech and an entire forum given over to “Russia’s Next Steps to Modernisation”.
However, attempts to drum up business interest in the country were dealt a blow by Mr Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management and once the largest foreign investor in Russia. He demanded Mr Shuvalov answer questions about an alleged $230m (£144m) state-orchestrated fraud that led to the death of his investigative lawyer Sergei Magnitsky.
“The President of the country called for an investigation into the people who killed my lawyer,” Mr Browder told a panel chaired by Mr Shuvalov. “One year after the investigation, people who killed the lawyer have been promoted higher by state orders… My question to you, Igor, is what will prevent other investors to have the same experience after my experience in Russia?”.
Mr Shuvalov responded: “We know this case very well… Unfortunately, I don’t know the results of the investigation and the end of the case… The past is always very important, although not always positive, but we need to concentrate on the future.”
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Russian pundits question Medvedev’s, deputy PM’s investor reassurances at Davos
Ekho Moskvy
Independent radio Ekho Moskvy has asked prominent experts to comment on a speech given by First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov at the World Economic Forum in Davos on 27 January. Shuvalov was in particular quizzed about the fate of the Hermitage Capital fund. Shuvalov told William Browder, head of the fund, that attention should be focused on the positive trends in Russia, and that 20 people had been dismissed following the death in custody of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergey Magnitskiy.
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