The Magnitsky Act-Behind The Scenes
Incredible documentary. Highly recommended for anyone who speaks Russian (unfortunately, I couldn’t find a copy online in English-I guess they banned it-could try the Torrents.)
A summary can be found here.
In short, this guy Nekrasov set out to make a movie about how the Russian cops stole a fund belonging to a businessman named Bill Browder in order to commit fraud to the tune of a quarter of a billion dollars, then tortured a guy named Magnitsky, the company’s lawyer to death for daring to accuse them of theft. Browder lobbied the US Congress and the EU Parliament with this story, and got the Magnitsky Act passed, sanctioning the Russians allegedly involved.
In the process of making the movie, the filmmaker learned that the story was pure bullshit. Browder was running the fund as a shell for HSBC (these guys) and doing some sketchy stuff. When the Russian lady in whose name they had registered the fund got wind of what they were doing, she went to the cops. Browder’s boys then filed a fraudulent corporate tax rebate, and disappeared the money. Magnitsky, who was not a lawyer but an accountant, was set up by Browder as the fall guy, arrested during the ensuing investigation, and died in jail due to medical neglect. Browder then covered his tracks by turning the whole thing into a story about Russian cops robbing his company, violating human rights, etc.
My favorite part in the film is where Nekrasov goes to Browder and says, look, here are the original documents off your own site that say the opposite of what you claim, and Browder, after hemming and hawing a bit, says, look, you don’t believe the Russians, do you? You’d better be quiet about this if you know what’s good for your credibility.
Oh, and a final minor detail-Browder’s grandpa, Earl Browder, was the head of the Communist Party of the USA.
