Swiss close decade-long Russian money laundering probe
Swiss prosecutors said Tuesday they have closed a decade-long investigation into suspected Russian money laundering linked to a fraud scandal in which late lawyer Sergei Magnitsky played a leading role.
The Swiss investigation against persons unknown centered on
money laundering alleged to have been committed in Switzerland between 2008 and
2010. It was launched in 2011, in part because of a report alleging criminal
activity by Hermitage Capital Management, the company of Magnitsky’s one-time
client, London-based investor William Browder.
Magnitsky drew controversy in 2008 after claiming that an
organized crime group had colluded with corrupt Russian Interior Ministry
officials to claim a $230 million tax rebate through illegally obtained
subsidiaries of Hermitage. The money was alleged to have been laundered first
in Russia and then in other countries, including Switzerland. The Swiss
attorney general’s office ordered assets worth around 18 million francs ($19.6
million) seized.
The attorney general’s office said Tuesday its investigation
of the alleged money laundering involved requests for assistance from Moldova,
Lithuania, Russia, Cyprus and the United States. It said that the circumstances
of Magnitsky’s death and its political repercussions weren’t part of the
proceedings. Magnitsky was arrested on tax evasion charges and died in prison in
November 2009, with human rights advocates saying he was beaten and denied
medical care behind bars.
The investigation “has not revealed any evidence that would
justify charges being bought against anyone in Switzerland” and is being
closed, the attorney general’s office said in a statement.
However, it added that because a link has been established
between some of the assets seized in Switzerland and criminal activity
committed in Russia, it ordered the forfeiture of more than 4 million francs.
The office said that Hermitage was originally recognized as
a complainant, but that status has now been revoked because “it had not been
possible to demonstrate that the funds under investigation in Switzerland
originated from an offence committed to Hermitage’s detriment.”
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