00:45Russia: Moscow court finds Magnitsky posthumously guilty
Russia: Moscow court finds Magnitsky posthumously guilty
A Moscow court has found late investment fund lawyer Sergei Magnitsky guilty of tax fraud in the country's first posthumous trial on Thursday. Magnitsky, who died in custody in 2009, was on trial for failing to pay some 552m roubles ($17m, €13m) in taxes alongside the former head of the investment company Hermitage Capital Management, Briton William Browder.
Although found guilty, Magnitsky did not receive a sentence from Moscow's Tverskoi court. William Browder was sentenced in absentia, as he has resided in the United Kingdom since fleeing Russia when investigation into the tax evasion claims began in 2008. Browder, now based in London, received a nine year jail sentence. Hermitage Capital has released a statement calling the trial illegitimate.
While working as an auditor in 2008, Magnitsky reported allegations of a widespread web of tax fraud involving Russian officials ahead of being accused of the same crime himself. The circumstances around his death in custody remain disputed.
Magnitsky's death sparked a major diplomatic dispute between Russia and the United States, with the US Congress imposing sanctions on a list of Russian officials they consider may be involved in Magnitsky's death or the case against him. It also includes others they allege have committed human rights abuses. The Magnitsky Act bans those named from entering the US and some European countries, alongside enforcing asset freezes.
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Russia: Moscow court finds Magnitsky posthumously guilty
A Moscow court has found late investment fund lawyer Sergei Magnitsky guilty of tax fraud in the country's first posthumous trial on Thursday. Magnitsky, who died in custody in 2009, was on trial for failing to pay some 552m roubles ($17m, €13m) in taxes alongside the former head of the investment company Hermitage Capital Management, Briton William Browder.
Although found guilty, Magnitsky did not receive a sentence from Moscow's Tverskoi court. William Browder was sentenced in absentia, as he has resided in the United Kingdom since fleeing Russia when investigation into the tax evasion claims began in 2008. Browder, now based in London, received a nine year jail sentence. Hermitage Capital has released a statement calling the trial illegitimate.
While working as an auditor in 2008, Magnitsky reported allegations of a widespread web of tax fraud involving Russian officials ahead of being accused of the same crime himself. The circumstances around his death in custody remain disputed.
Magnitsky's death sparked a major diplomatic dispute between Russia and the United States, with the US Congress imposing sanctions on a list of Russian officials they consider may be involved in Magnitsky's death or the case against him. It also includes others they allege have committed human rights abuses. The Magnitsky Act bans those named from entering the US and some European countries, alongside enforcing asset freezes.