US investor labels Russia “criminal state”

The lawyer of the man who was once Russia’s leading foreign investor has died in prison, after being held for a year without charge. US businessman Bill Browder, who hired Sergei Magnitsky to investigate whether fraud had been committed against his Russian firms, has said with reference to the latter’s death: “Russia is essentially a criminal state now.” In 2005 Browder was banned from Russia after allegations of tax evasion, but claimed at the time that his company was the target of criminals who wanted to seize his assets. Bowder believes that Magnitsky’s death is a direct result of the plot against him. Read more: BBC