strange things happen

[ana_pirogova]

Bill Browder used to manage billions of dollars of investments in Russia through his company Hermitage Capital. But in 2007, the offices of Hermitage and its lawyers were raided by the Russian Interior Ministry.

A few months later, Hermitage discovered that three of its companies had been stolen. The three companies were then used to commit a massive tax fraud in Russia totalling $220m.

In Moscow, a legal adviser called Sergei Magnitsky had begun to investigate for Browder, but within months Magnitsky was arrested on suspicion of tax offences.

For nearly a year, Magnitsky was held in pre-trial confinement. During that time he developed pancreatitis, and on 16 November 2009, he died.

Alexander Perepilichny handed over confidential bank documents, showing money transfers into Swiss bank accounts linked to some of the Russian officials who had helped approve the fraudulent tax refund.

Hermitage submitted a criminal complaint to the Swiss authorities who launched a major investigation. They had meetings with Perepilichny and froze bank accounts. Nineteen months later, Perepilichny was found dead on an exclusive street in Surrey.
Now, more than five months since Perepilichny's death and after two post mortems, Surrey Police says it still does not know how he died. Many people are wondering if he was murdered.