I have long argued that there exists a component of Russia’s failure to reform, deepen democracy, and respect rule of law as a normative member of the international community that is solely the responsibility of Western complicity – our banks, our energy firms, our investors, and our businesses which have been more than willing to prop up authoritarian governments, regardless of their human rights records.  This new lawsuit, launched by William Browder and Hermitage Capital, alleging corruption at the highest levels of the Russian government to defraud the country’s biggest investor, may bring some changes to the traditional equation of risk and politics in Russia.

From the New York Times:

The filing is a new twist on Mr. Browder’s case, which began almost four years ago. His lawyers say the wire transfers will show a fraud larger than previously disclosed — remarkable even by the standards of Russia.

In its sweep and scale, the case has echoes of the Bank of New York money-laundering scandal in the late 1990s, though this time there are no allegations that American banks other than the subsidiary of a Russian investment company were involved.