Protect Yourself from Russian Corruption

By James Kimer | Published: May 29, 2011

Very interesting interview with Alexei Navalny in the Los Angeles Times. Last November you made a report to the U.S. Helsinki Commission about corruption in Russia. What were your recommendations and what was the reaction? I said that U.S. authorities don’t need to resolve Russian problems but they need to protect their countrymen from corruption […]

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More of the Same in the Khodorkovsky Appeal Hearing

By James Kimer | Published: May 24, 2011

Business columnist Joe Nocera of the New York Times has published a very strong article on the elaborately rigged judicial procedure to send Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev back to the gulag of Krasnokamens, Siberia. In China, when the country’s rulers want to get rid of a troublesome dissident, they just lock him up. There […]

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BP’s Poor Judgment Led to its Russian Disaster

By James Kimer | Published: May 18, 2011

Last week in London, Robert Amsterdam hosted a breakfast seminar on resource nationalism in emerging markets.  Although the BP-Rosneft share swap had not yet completely disintegrated, the topic came up during the Q&A period.  One journalist did a short story which came out yesterday.  More on details on this latest business drama to come. Robert […]

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Russia Legal News Blast, May 12, 2011

By James Kimer | Published: May 12, 2011

The part of the Russian legal scene that the public at large is very much aware of is the celebrity criminal cases. The last days were unusually high in the related news. The Investigative Committee has initiated criminal proceedings against Alexei Navalny – the celebrity lawyer, champion of the minority shareholders right. Navalny calls the […]

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Uzbekistan Is Trading on Its Horrific Reputation

By James Kimer | Published: May 10, 2011

Earlier today Amsterdam & Peroff LLP issued a press release on behalf of their client Oxus Gold Plc, which is currently experiencing an unlawful expropriation attempt at the hands of the government of Uzbekistan.  Below is an extract of the Associated Press coverage of the story.  More news and information to come. Robert Amsterdam, who […]

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Russia Legal News Blast, May 9, 2011

By James Kimer | Published: May 9, 2011

One development that is largely missed by Russia observers is the emergence of the Highest Arbitrazh Court (HAC) and its chairman, Mr. Ivanov, as an important political player. HAC is rapidly becoming an important legislator in its own right. Working closely with Presidential administration, HAC recently has come with initiatives that, while going under radar […]

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Russia Legal News Blast, May 5, 2011

By James Kimer | Published: May 5, 2011

The best independent Russian pollster, Levada Center, published results of its poll concerning attitude of Russian public towards independence of the Russian system. The results are somewhat paradoxical. 58% of those polled believe that the law will nor defend them from arbitrary persecution of authorities. 38% believe otherwise. Russian citizens complain about corruption and lack […]

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Salisu Suleiman: The Post-Election in Nigeria

By James Kimer | Published: May 4, 2011

It was not dissimilar to the opening of an action film. All land, air and sea borders of Nigeria were locked down, preventing anyone from leaving or entering the country

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Russia Legal News Blast, May 4, 2011

By James Kimer | Published:

As Russian companies aspiring to go public and raise funds on major Western exchanges, the lawyers drafting their IPOs often offer fascinating glimpses of what Western consultants really think about Russian investment climate and Russian legal system. Vedomosti offers some gems from the prospectus of the Yandex IPO, a major Russian internet search engine. According […]

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Russia Legal News Blast, May 3, 2011

By James Kimer | Published: May 3, 2011

[Editor’s note:  on hiatus since late January, we are back by popular demand with our daily Russia Legal News Blast, summarizing the latest developments in the Russian and trade press essential for lawyers both in and beyond Russia and the former Soviet states.] Vedomosti has published an article by a Russian lawyer concerning new proposed […]

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