Video: Russian Untouchables

Following his forced exit from Russia in 2005, William Browder has been an active spokesperson against shady business dealings in the country.  In recent years, Browder has been focusing on the tax fraud scandal uncovered by Firestone Duncan’s lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who is widely thought to have been left to die in pretrial detention because of his involvement in the case.

The latest round of ammo from Browder’s firm, Hermitage Capital, is a YouTube video entitled ‘Russian Untouchables. Episode 3. Olga Stepanova‘, which provides details of the unlawful tax payments that were being investigated by Magnitsky before his death, and adds information it says was provided by members of the public regarding the case, mostly regarding the lavish real estate spending of Stepanova and her husband.  The material in the video has been attracting a lot of attention this week, both from the press and from international governments, with the Washington Post reporting that ‘the United States, Europe and Canada have moved to place sanctions on the movements and overseas holdings of 60 Russian officials who were involved in [the tax case].‘