Hermitage Says Police Seek Arrest of Partner
The same police officer whose investigation led to the death of Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in November is seeking the arrest of a Hermitage partner in the case.
The fund's lawyers have received a copy of a request by Interior Ministry Major Oleg Silchenko for a Moscow court to arrest Ivan Cherkesov, a Russian national based in London, in absentia. Cherkesov is wanted on suspicion of underpaying dividend-withholding taxes by a Hermitage-related firm that he used to run, an accusation that Hermitage denied.
Magnitsky died in a detention center after officials denied him medical treatment for illnesses that he developed while waiting 12 months for his trial to start, prompting President Dmitry Medvedev to order amendments intended to sharply reduce the percentage of people kept in pre-trial detention. Police began investigating Magnitsky after he accused Interior Ministry officers of embezzling government funds worth $230 million.
In a statement, Hermitage said: "The officers responsible for Magnitsky's death are now trying to find another hostage." The Interior Ministry had no immediate comment on the case.