Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

According to Bill Browder of Hermitage Capital, who was once the country's leading foreign investor, Russia has now turned into a "criminal state."

Browder said that his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, had in effect been "held hostage and they killed their hostage." He added: "They basically said to him if you sign the following false confessions then we'll give you medical treatment - otherwise we won't."

Browder believes that Magnitsky's death is a direct result of the tax evasion allegations against him. He said: "They're trying to come up with any kind of charges they can against me and they were using him as their tool."