Swiss Prosecutor to End Magnitsky Case as Browder Calls Foul [View all]
Source: Bloomberg
(Bloomberg) -- Swiss prosecutors are close to ending a decade-old probe into alleged money laundering tied to a $230 million tax-fraud case pursued by Sergei Magnitsky, whose death in a Russian jail prompted the U.S. to enact laws targeting those responsible.
The Swiss federal prosecutors outlined their intention to close the case soon in a Nov. 6 letter to Hermitage Capital Management, a London-based firm founded by Bill Browder, which made the allegations in the wake of Magnitskys 2009 death.
Before his 2008 arrest in Russia, Magnitsky had been investigating what he believed was a conspiracy to take control of three Hermitage companies and then fraudulently claim back $230 million in refunds from taxes Hermitage had previously paid. The Magnitsky Act was passed in 2012 and allows the American government to punish people it sees as human-rights violators by freezing their assets and denying them entry to the U.S.
The Swiss prosecutors said they intend to confiscate as much as $4 million from Swiss bank accounts controlled by entities in the case. Those are the same entities that Hermitage Capital says are controlled by Russians who laundered $24 million in proceeds from the tax scheme through Swiss banks.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/swiss-prosecutor-to-end-magnitsky-case-as-browder-calls-foul/ar-BB1bbqAh?ocid=DELLDHP&li=BBnbfcL