The last time William Browder visited “Closer Look” for an interview, he made one thing very clear: Vladimir Putin wants him dead.
Once Russia’s largest foreign investor, Browder became involved in investigating and uncovering a $230 million tax fraud scheme that made international news.
“In doing so, I created a lot of enemies, as you can imagine,” Browder said. “I was expelled from the country in 2005, my offices were raided in 2007.”
Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax advisor who was also Browder’s friend and attorney, was key to exposing the corruption and even testified against the government officials involved. Soon after, he was arrested, tortured and murdered under police custody.
On this edition of “Closer Look,” Browder returns to talk about his work in creating the Magnitsky Act – which allows the U.S. government to impose sanctions on human rights violators – in memory of his attorney. Browder also shares his work in seeking justice since then, as detailed in his new book, “Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin’s Wrath.”
