US Lawmakers Cardin, McGovern Introduce Bills Creating Consequences for Russian Corruption
US Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (Helsinki Commission), and U.S. Representative James P. McGovern (D-MA), Chairman of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, introduced bills on September 29, 2010 that would freeze assets of and block visas to individuals responsible for the 2009 death of Russian anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky and a related $234 million tax fraud scheme. Magnitsky died after suffering torturous conditions in pre-trial detention, being repeatedly denied medical treatment. He had exposed the massive fraud and accused Russian officials of stealing the millions of tax dollars paid by his client, Hermitage Capital Management.
"Nearly a year after Sergei's death, the leading figures in this scheme remain in power in Russia. It has become clear that if we expect any measure of justice in this case, we must act in the United States," said Chairman Cardin, who first called in April for a visa ban for the 60 Russian officials responsible for the tax fraud and Magnitsky's death. "At the least we can and should block these corrupt individuals from traveling and investing their ill-gotten money in our country."
Chairman McGovern said: "I have introduced the ‘Justice for Sergei Magnitsky Act of 2010' in the House of Representatives as a direct consequence of the compelling testimony at a hearing on human rights in the Russian Federation in the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. The death of this courageous whistleblower in a Russian prison is the consequence of an abysmal prison system and corruption aimed at defrauding the Russian Treasury of billions. We know about Sergei Magnitsky, and we know about Mikhail Khodorkovsky, but how many more Magnitskys and Khodorkovskys are currently suffering in Russian prisons? My bill addresses the root causes of these severe human rights violations -- the Russian prison system and official corruption. We should not rest until justice is achieved in Sergei's case, and the money is returned to its rightful owners -- the people of the Russian Federation."