Bill Browder is a hedge fund manager who invested heavily in post-Soviet Russia, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, and is now one of Vladimir Putin’s most wanted.
Initially he was a fan of President Putin, but after uncovering alleged corruption involving senior members of the Russian police, judges, officials, lawyers and the Russian mafia, he was deported and deemed a national threat.
His lawyer in Moscow, Sergei Magnitsky, continued to probe the corruption and was arrested on suspicion of tax avoidance and jailed, dying in custody after nearly a year. An investigation found that he had been severely beaten just before his death.
Sergei Magnitsky's death changed Bill Browder from entrepreneur to global human rights crusader. He's won a landmark set of sanctions from the U.S. Congress, including visa bans and asset freezes against those linked with his lawyer's death, and is pushing for European governments to do the same. He also wrote a book about Sergei Magnitsky's death - it's called Red Notice.
Bill Browder talks to Kathryn Ryan.
