Brott Och Straff I Ryssland: Fallet Magnitskij AV WILLIAM BROWDER INLEDNING AV MATS JOHANSSON
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BRIEFING NR: 2 ISBN 91-7566-878-9 · Februari 2012 BRIEFING: Brott och straff i Ryssland: Fallet Magnitskij AV WILLIAM BROWDER INLEDNING AV MATS JOHANSSON INLEDNING: korruption, bland annat inom den presidentvalet den 4 mars. Vilket Sergej Magnitskij var en av Ryss- statliga energijätten Gazprom. 2006 väcker frågan om på vilka villkor lands ledande affärsjurister fram till sin svartlistades Browder av den ryska re- utländska företag kan göra affärer i död 2009, 37 år gammal. Då mörda- geringen, klassad som ett hot mot den Ryssland. Det avslöjar hur brott och des han under en sjukhusvistelse på nationella säkerheten, och utvisades. straff hanteras i en rövarstat som allt grund av sitt försvar för lag och rätt Nu står han medåtalad i processen tydligare visar sitt förakt för spelregler i processen mot funktionärer som mot den döde Magnitskij. i mellanstatliga och internationella stulit företag tillhöriga det utländska Bifogad dokumentation utgör under- relationer. investmentbolaget Hermitage. Ingen laget för den hearing som hölls i den Utomlands har fallet väckt starka uppsatt ansvarig har ännu straffats. amerikanska senatens utrikesutskotts reaktioner och ingår numera i under- Tvärtom har den ryska staten nyligen underkommitté för Europa den 14 visningen vid Harvard. Det är dags att vidtagit den ovanliga åtgärden att åtala december 2011 under rubriken ”The även Sverige reagerar och agerar. Så Magnitskij efter hans död. State of Human Rights and The Rule skedde nyligen när den svenska reger- Den ryska mörkläggningen ska inte of Law in Russia”. ingen tillsammans med den brittiska ske i tysthet. Fallet behandlas nu i den Innehållet tecknar bilden av en stat tog upp fallet i Europarådets minis- amerikanska senaten på initiativ av som saknar grundläggande skydd för terkommitté med krav på en effektiv den demokratiske senatorn Ben Car- individen. Makt utövas inte under brottsutredning. Svaret lär dröja. din. I Europarådet, EU-parlamentet lagen utan under makthavarnas Frivärld följer ärendet som ett led i och en rad nationella parlament väcks godtycke. Egenintresset är styrande ett av våra tre programområden, ägnat förslag i syfte att införa sanktioner princip. systemstriden på globalnivå. Detta ut- mot gärningsmännen. Bevisningen är kompakt, skuldbör- förliga underlag presenterades i sam- En drivande kraft är affärsmannen dan har erkänts av presidentens MR- band med ett Sverigebesök av William William Browder, sonson till det ame- råd och brottslingarna är namngivna. Browder den 21-22 februari 2012 vid rikanska kommunistpartiets grundare, Men brottslingarna frias och belönas. ett anförande i Sveriges riksdag. numera bosatt i London. Som chef Fallet Magnitskij illustrerar med för Hermitage fick han insyn i många tydlighet förfallet under Putins långa Mats Johansson ryska bolag och uppmärksammade vid tid vid makten. Det lär ytterligare Styrelseordförande Frivärld millennieskiftet flera fall av allvarlig förlängas med det redan avgjorda Stockholm Free World Forum · Februari 2012 1 BRIEFING NR: 2 · Februari 2012 1. The crimes committed by Los Angeles Times, July 6, 2011. law firm, Firestone Duncan, as head the Russian Government http://articles.latimes.com/2011/ of its tax law practice. He discovered against Sergei Magnitsky jul/06/world/la-fgrussia-lawy- a $230 million corruption scheme are irrefutable er-20110706 perpetrated in December 2007, by a group of senior officials in the Russian Sergei Magnitsky died in Russian ‘Human Rights Council Publishes police and Tax Ministry along with state custody on November 16, 2009 Expert Analysis of the Magnitsky exconvicts. after being detained for 358 days wit- Case’, by ITARTASS. They laundered the money through hout trial by the same Russian Interior This article discusses the findings of Citigroup and JP Morgan as well Ministry officers he had accused of the report, July 7, 2011. as a number of other international committing a $230 million corruption. http://www.itartass.com/en/ banks. In July 2008, the banks agreed ‘Russian Lawyer who Alleged Police c142/181023.html to provide information showing how Corruption Dies in Prison’, by Philip An investigation by The New Times, the stolen funds had passed through Pan, Washington Post, November 18, a Russian independent magazine, ex- the US banking system in response 2009. posed the role ofthe Interior Ministry to a subpoena filed by Hermitage http://www.washingtonpost.com/ and the Federal Security Service in Mr Capital lawyers and described in Neil wpdyn/content/article/2009/11/17/ Magnitsky’s arrest. Micklethwaite’s declaration, submit- AR2009111703188.html ‘Price of Death’, by The New Times, ted to the Southern District Court of On July 5, 2011, Russian President November 30, 2009. New York. Medvedev’s Human Rights Council, http://newtimes.ru/articles/de- ‘Micklethwaite Declaration’, submit- consisting of highly regarded human tail/11454 ted to the Southern District Court rights activists, concluded that Sergei The impunity of Russian officials in of New York. This document shows Magnitsky had been falsely arrested the Magnitsky case has lead to initiati- how the stolen $230 million flowed and beaten in police custody, and that ves in the US and Europe with the through US banks, July 27, 2009 (see officials of the Russian state have aim of imposing visa and economic Chapter XIII, pages 52-54). subsequently covered up his death and sanctions on those Russian officials. http://russian-untouchables.com/ have refused to investigate any of the docs/D62.pdf allegations of corruption which landed ‘Russians Linked to Jail Death Are him in detention. Barred From US’, by Andrew Kramer, ‘Russia’s Crime of the Century,’ by The New York Times, July 26, 2011. Jamison Firestone, Foreign Policy, ‘Russian President Human Rights April 20, 2011. This article by Sergei Council Report’, July 5, 2011. The http://www.nytimes. Magnitsky’s law partner describes report names the crimes committed com/2011/07/27/world/ the corruption exposed by Sergei and the perpetrators. English transla- europe/27russia.html?_r=1 Magnitsky, the ‘inexplicable’ multi- tion available at: 2. The crimes against Sergei million dollar wealth of the families http://russian-untouchables.com/ Magnitsky have affected US of the Russian officials implicated by eng/civil-rightcouncil/ interests Mr Magnitsky, and their impunity in ‘Rights Panel Issues Early Report on Russia. Sergei Magnitsky worked for a US Russian Lawyer’s Prison Death’, by Stockholm Free World Forum · Februari 2012 2 BRIEFING NR: 2 · Februari 2012 http://www.foreignpolicy.com/artic- ‘Top Bank Executive in Fraud Probe’, vember 3, 2010. http://cachef.ft.com/ les/2011/04/20/russia_s_crime_of_ by The Moscow Times, October 24, cms/s/0/bdae02a8-e784-11df-b5b4- the_century 2005. 00144feab49a.html#axzz1gEnXhoDs ‘US Court Allows Hermitage Sub- http://www.pressmon.com/cgi-bin/ poenas in Russia Fraud’, by Tom Hals, press_view.cgi?id=1002095 4. Officials involved have been involved in other Reuters, July 31, 2009. This article In 2006, $107 million of tax money describes how JP Morgan and Citi- human rights abuses and paid by clients of Renaissance Capital, crimes bank provided testimony and records were stolen by members of the same regarding the transfer of the stolen criminal group. The Russian judges who sanctioned $230 million. the false arrest of Sergei Magnitsky ‘Browder’s Fund Pursues Renaissance have done this multiple times in high- http://www.reuters.com/artic- Capital Link in Russia Fraud’, by Tom profile cases, including the arrest in le/2009/07/31/russia-taxfraud hermi- Cahill, Bloomberg, July 30, 2009. tageidUSN3143450520090731 December 2010 of Russian opposition http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/ne leader Boris Nemtsov and the arrest ws?pid=newsarchive&sid=aCGHf6w 3. The crime against Sergei in December 2011 of Russian anticor- qokuY Magnitsky was not an ruption activist Alexei Navalny. isolated incident Between 2006 and 2009, there were Judge Yelena Stashina, number 49 at least nine other fraudulent tax The Russian government officials on Cardin’s List, who prolonged Ser- refunds involving Russian companies and criminals who were involved have gei Magnitsky’s detention and denied perpetrated by the same Russian tax been involved in a serial criminal his petitions for medical care, was officials. Hermitage Capital lawyers activity for a number of years. Previous responsible for imprisoning opposition filed criminal complaints with the activities include: candidate Boris Nemtsov for conduc- Russian General Prosecutor’s Office ting a peaceful protest in December Stealing of Public Funds and Fraud providing details of the refunds, Octo- 2010. In 2002, Russian taxes paid by an ber 13, 2009. ‘Opposition’s Leader Arrest Le- investment company previously owned http://russianuntouchables.com/ gitimate – Court’, by Russia Today, by Soros Fund Management were docs/D59.pdf January 13, 2011 rebated. This tax rebate scheme was Kidnapping and Extortion described in a Moscow court testi- http://rt.com/politics/nemtsov- The 2006 kidnapping and false arrest mony by a former Renaissance Capital opposition-arrest-court/ of a Russian businessman, Fedor Mik- company executive, 10 August 2005. Judge Aleksey Krivoruchko, num- heev, as part of a $20 million extortion http://russian-untouchables.com/rus/ ber 47 on Cardin’s list, who rejected attempt, were orchestrated by mem- docs/D389.pdf Sergei Magnitsky’s petitions about the bers of the same criminal group, which In 2005, $1.6 billion worth of shares “horrid, unbearable” conditions and included