The Huffington Post: Open Season on Lawyers in Russia
February 19, 2010
Russia has become a pretty scary place for lawyers to work, and not for any lack of power lunches, major dealmaking, or luxury retailers. While we most often hear about the scores of journalists who pay a high price for their criticism of the Kremlin, the legal profession has come under attack as well, in both political cases as well as run-of-the-mill corruption. In recent years, dozens of lawyers have been forced into prison, out of the country, or worse.
The most famous lawyers to fall victim to these preying forces would be Stanislav Markelov, the human rights lawyer who was shot dead on a Moscow sidewalk; Vasily Alexanyan, the Yukos general counsel who was refused medication for AIDS and tuberculosis; and Sergei Magnistky, the corporate lawyer who most recently died in prison following abusive treatment in relation to the Hermitage case.
The most recent name to make the headlines is Jamison Firestone, the 44-year-old American founding partner of the law firm Firestone Duncan in Moscow, who has been forced to flee Russia for his own safety. Firestone was the former employer of Magnitsky, and represented Hermitage in their recent travails against state corruption.
Bloomberg: Firestone Flees Moscow ‘Mafia’ Police as Browder Affair Widens
February 19, 2010
Jamison Firestone, who spent 18 years helping U.S. companies navigate Russia’s legal system, said he fled the country because he’s the next target of “mafia” law-enforcement officials he says were responsible for the death of his colleague Sergei Magnitsky.
Firestone, 44, a U.S. citizen and former board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said Interior Ministry officials made two attempts to obtain $21 million in taxes that a company he’s a director of paid to the government. He said the perpetrators forged his signature and corporate seals to seek tax rebates, similar to the $230 million in claims made by funds expropriated from Hermitage Capital Management, a $1 billion investment firm run by his client William Browder.
Ведомости: Юрист убежал от налогов
February 19, 2010
Схема похищения налогов из бюджета, использованная в нашумевшем деле Hermitage, была применена снова, утверждает директор Firestone Duncan Джемисон Файерстоун, на которого работал погибший в тюрьме Сергей Магнитский. Опасаясь за свою свободу, он покинул Россию
Основатель юркомпании Firestone Duncan Джемисон Файерстоун в интервью Bloomberg обвинил ряд сотрудников органов внутренних дел в попытке незаконно возместить из бюджета $21 млн с помощью управляемой им самим компании, а Генпрокуратуру и МВД — в нежелании реагировать на эти факты.
Businessweek: Deadly Business in Moscow
February 19, 2010
An American lawyer’s experience underscores the lawlessness outsiders operating in Russia can face.
Jamison Firestone was at his desk when the commotion began. On the morning of June 4, 2007, the American attorney heard loud voices coming from the reception area of his law firm, Firestone Duncan, on Krasnoproletarskaya Street in Moscow. He went out to investigate and was greeted by two dozen officers from the Russian Interior Ministry.
Bloomberg: Jamie Firestone Calls Russian Police System ‘Corrupt’
February 18, 2010
Jamison Jamie Firestone, managing partner of the law firm Firestone Duncan, talks with Bloombergs Deirdre Bolton and Erik Schatzker about his allegations of corruption within Russia’s police force and the death of his employee, Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested and died in jail after testifying against police officers. Firestone also discusses his reasons for fleeing the country. (Source: Bloomberg)
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