Magnistky Case Involved Browder to Testify in Case on Russian Budget Theft

Former CEO of Hermitage Capital Management investment fund William Browder is ready to testify in New York in the case of the Prevezon Holdings company that allegedly stole money from the Russian budget, lawyers representing the company told RIA Novosti on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In summer 2013, a Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison. The court ruled that Sergei Magnitsky, a tax and legal consultant for Hermitage Capital Management who died in pretrial detention in 2010, developed and implemented a tax evasion scheme while working for Browder between 1997 and 2002.

The Prevezon Holdings case was opened in September 2013, after Browder provided information on the basis of which, the company was accused of stealing money from the Russian budget and legalizing it in the United States, according to the lawyers.

Browder, however, refused to show up in a New York court and prove the trustworthiness of the materials. He considered the court summons to be a threat to his personal safety, the lawyers said.

Now, Browder is ready to provide the documents requested by his opponents a year ago, according to his lawyers. His interrogation has been scheduled for April 15 after numerous attempts to hand the court summons over to him succeeded in February.

In December, the United States adopted the Magnitsky Act, which slaps travel and financial sanctions on Russian officials and other individuals believed to have been involved in Magnistky's death, the case against him and other human rights abuses. Russia quickly responded in part by banning US citizens from adopting Russian children.