Magnitsky Murder Tops List of Questions for Medvedev at Davos

January 25, 2011

In a unique initiative, the World Economic Forum organizers this year have asked members to propose and vote online on the questions to be asked of President Medvedev at Davos. The most popular questions will be unveiled at the Forum’s opening plenary session on Wednesday, 26 January, at 18:30 CET.
According to Russian business newspaper Vedomosti, the online poll conducted by the WEF showed that the single most popular question to Medvedev is the question about the impunity of police who killed 37-year old anti-corruption lawyer Sergei Magnitsky:

“We heard from you that everything will be done that the Magnitsky case is investigated and those guilty prosecuted. In fact the main outcome has been that the key complicit officials from the Interior Ministry and the Prosecutor Office, including Lt Col Kuznetsov and Major Karpov, and many others, have been promoted and continue to acquire expensive real estate and luxury cars…Why has there been no real actions against those complicit in Magnitsky case?”

The Vedomosti newspaper reported that as of yesterday, 155 questions to Medvedev were posed on the WEF website. The most popular question voted for by 63 respondents was the question about corruption and impunity of police officials in Magnitsky case.

“If President Medvedev thinks seriously of modernising the country, the very first step must be to end the cover up of senior officials who murdered Magnitsky and prosecute them. Otherwise, the rhetoric about attracting investors is a Potemkin village,” said William Browder, CEO of Hermitage Capital, the firm that Magnitsky represented in Russia and until recently the largest foreign portfolio investor in Russia.

Sergei Magnitsky was arrested at his home in front of his family after he testified the involvement of police officers in embezzling $230 million of public funds. He was arrested by the very same police officials he named in his testimony. He was denied bail, legal remedies, and life-saving medical help, and he died at the age of 37 after 358 days in detention leaving a wife and two children. Since his death, the police officials he named have been promoted by the Russian Interior Ministry and have received top state honours. It has also been revealed that the families of those police officials enjoy lifestyles well above their official salaries. In particular, according to published complaints, Russian Interior Ministry Lt Col Artem Kuznetsov and his family own property and cars exceeding $3 million, despite his $10,000 a year official salary. His colleague, Major Pavel Karpov, and his family own property and cars worth in excess of $1 million despite his $6,000 a year official salary. In addition, records have since surfaced showing how both men have taken luxurious vacations with their families since the embezzlement.

Despite those expenditures being a matter of public record and subject of numerous complaints in Russia, there has been no investigation into these officials. On the contrary, these individuals continue to hold their positions in the Russian bureaucracy, and their official powers have grown.

Links to videos about Policemen in Magnitsky case:
Video about Lt Col Kuznetsov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZB3YoAvEro
Video about Major Karpov: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TWhlPqVddc

View assets of Lt Col Kuznetsov and Major Karpov above their official means:
http://russian-untouchables.com/eng/artem-kuznetsov/
http://russian-untouchables.com/eng/pavel-karpov/

Link to Vedomosti article:
http://www.vedomosti.ru/newspaper/article/253686/otkrytie_medvedeva