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US Criminal Grand Jury Convened to Examine Involvement of Son of Senior Russian Government Official in $230 Million Fraud exposed by Sergei Magnitsky
May 27, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
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US Criminal Grand Jury Convened to Examine Involvement of Son of Senior Russian Government Official in $230 Million Fraud exposed by Sergei Magnitsky
27 May 2016 – A US criminal grand jury has been convened to examine the involvement of Denis Katsyv, son of Russian government official Petr Katsyv, in the US$230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky. In 2008, Prevezon, a Cyprus-based company owned by Denis Katsyv, received funds traced by the US Department of Justice and the Swiss General Prosecutor’s office to the US$230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky.
Since September 2013, Denis Katsyv’s companies have been subject to a U.S. civil forfeiture case brought by the US Department of Justice for money laundering. Under that case the US government has frozen $14 million of assets belonging to Katsyv’s companies.
“The defendants [companies owned by Denis Katsvy] were involved in the laundering of the proceeds of the Russian fraud, which itself amounts to an elaborate series of criminal offences,” said US Justice Department in its court filing in New York.
“It is …entirely proper for the grand jury to investigate whether the defendants [Katsyv’s companies], who received proceeds from the fraud, were involved in it,” said the US Department of Justice.
A Criminal Grand jury is a form of criminal investigation in the United States used to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against potential defendants.
Previously, Katsyv’s companies tried to challenge the US and Swiss asset freezing orders, but courts in the US and Switzerland denied those motions and confirmed that the freezing was justified.
The wire transfers to Prevezon from the $230 million fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky showed highly unusual payments. Prevezon disguised incoming payments for “sanitary equipment” and “auto parts,” which were supposed to be supplied but never delivered because Prevezon was in fact a real estate company.
According to the US Department of Justice, the falsified contracts used to justify Prevezon’s incoming wire transfers claimed that Prevezon was supposed to deliver 500 acrylic bath sets under the brand name “Doctor Jet,” manufactured in Sicilia, Italy, with dimensions of 190 x 120⁄95 x 65, to two shell companies in Moldova which did not do any legitimate business and never in fact purchased the bath sets.
Prevezon explained these suspicious wire transfers to the US Court stating that an agreement existed between its Russian director, a student named Timofei Krit, and “investor Petrov,” and denied knowledge of false wire descriptions.
However, during its investigation, the US Justice Department identified further false and questionable wire transfers to Prevezon from companies in Belize, BVI, etc. for an additional amount of US$2 million. These wire transfers were similarly disguised as payments for computers, video, home equipment, etc. that again were never delivered.
Previously, Denis Katsyv’s firm Martash paid US$8 million under the 2005 money laundering case by the State of Israel.
Denis Katsyv’s father, Petr Katsyv, has been Vice President of OAO Russian Railways, a state transportation monopoly, since 2014. Before that, he was Vice Premier of the Government and Transportation Minister in the Moscow Region. Contracts with Moscow Region’s government structures supported the business of his son, Denis Katsyv.
Similarly, Denis Katsyv’s Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya developed her business in part on contracts with Moscow government agencies, where her husband is Deputy Minister of Transportation (and was deputy to Katsyv senior during his time as Minister of Transportation), and previously, between 1984 – 2000 was official within the Moscow Region’s Prosecutor’s Office.
According to court filings, Petr Katsyv was previously in contact with the FBI to provide information on Russian organized crime but withdrew his proposal, when he was informed by the US authorities that his cooperation would not help settle the money laundering and civil forfeiture case by the US Justice Department pending in the Southern District Court of New York.
Sergei Magnitsky, who uncovered the US$230 million fraud and testified about the complicity of Russian officials in it, was tortured and killed in Russian police custody at the age of 37. The unprecedented events of this case are described in the New-York Timesbest-seller by William Browder, leader of global ‘Justice for Sergei Magnitsky’ campaign, called “Red Notice. How I Became Putin’s No 1 Enemy,” and in a series of justice campaign videos on Youtube channel “Russian Untouchables.”
For more information, please contact:
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
e‑mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
https://twitter.com/Billbrowder
В США открыто уголовное дело в отношении компаний сына российского чиновника Дениса Кацыва
May 27, 2016
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В США открыто уголовное дело в отношении компаний сына российского чиновника Дениса Кацыва
27 May 2016 – Правительство США открыло уголовное расследование компаний сына российского чиновника Дениса Кацыва, об этом сообщается в документах, представленных в американский суд Правительством США по иску об отмывании компаниями Кацыва на территории США доходов от хищения 5,4 миллиардов рублей у российских граждан – преступления, раскрытого Сергеем Магнитским.
Денис Кацыв – сын вице-президента ОАО «Российские железные дороги» Петра Кацыва, долгое время занимавшего должности вице-премьера Правительства и Министра транспорта Московской области. Бизнес Дениса Кацыва был выстроен на контрактах с правительством и госучреждениями Московской области, контролировавшейся его отцом-чиновником. На контрактах с госструктурами Московской области зарабатывала и нынешний адвокат Дениса Кацыва Наталья Весельницкая, чей муж был заместителем Петра Кацыва на посту Министра транспорта Московской области.
О деле Сергея Магнитского и раскрытии им обстоятельств хищения из бюджета 5,4 миллиардов рублей, его последующем аресте и убийстве в следственном изоляторе подробно рассказывает книга-международный бестселлер Уильяма Браудера «Красный циркуляр», которая бесплатно доступна читателям в электронном виде на русском языке (http://www.billbrowder.com/Portals/0/downloads/Browder_Red%20Notice_RU_FINAL.pdf ).
Обосновывая необходимость проведения уголовного расследования в США фирм Дениса Кацыва, Прокуратура США указала на уже установленные обстоятельства соучастия фирм Кацыва в преступной деятельности — отмывании доходов от хищения 5,4 миллиардов рублей.
«Ответчики по иску [компании Дениса Кацыва] участвовали в отмывании доходов, полученных от мошенничества в России, что само по себе является сложной комбинацией уголовных преступлений», - заявила Прокуратура США.
Прокуратура США ранее сообщала, что кипрская фирма Дениса Кацыва «Превезон Холдингс Лтд», по официальной версии занимающаяся инвестициями в недвижимость, менее чем через три месяца после хищения из российского бюджета 5,4 миллиардов рублей (или около 230 миллионов долларов) получила около двух миллионов долларов из похищенных средств от подставных компаний, не осуществлявших реальной коммерческой деятельности. Платежи были получены «Превезоном» якобы в оплату поставок сантехнического оборудования, а именно свыше полутысячи ванных марки «Доктор Джет» производства Италии размером 190 x 120⁄95 x 65, и запчастей для автомобилей. Указанные товары «Превезоном» никогда не поставлялись.
В «Превезоне» эти платежи объясняют договоренностью между 22-летним директором фирмы Тимофеем Критом и «инвестором Петровым» об инвестициях в недвижимость и отрицают осведомленность о подложных документах.
Прокуратура США также обнаружила другие фиктивные и сомнительные платежи в адрес «Превезона» на сумму свыше 2 миллионов долларов от компаний с Белиза, Британских Виргинских островов и др., якобы осуществленных в оплату поставок технического, компьютерного и видео оборудования, которое «Превезоном» также никогда не поставлялось.
В рамках гражданского иска Правительства США к «Превезону» об отмывании доходов суд Нью-Йорка в сентябре 2013 года наложил арест на активы Дениса Кацыва в США стоимостью около 14 миллионов долларов, включая недвижимость в престижном нью-йоркском районе Манхэттен.
В октябре 2015 года суд Нью-Йорка подтвердил обоснованность ареста имущества «Превезона» в силу имеющихся у Правительства США подозрений об участии в отмывании преступных доходов.
В сентябре 2012 года Генеральная прокуратура Швейцарии заморозила свыше 7 миллионов долларов на счетах Дениса Кацыва, его партнера Александра Литвака, а также компаний Кацыва «Превезон», «Ференкой» и «Колевинс» в рамках уголовного дела об отмывании через швейцарские банки похищенных из бюджета России 5,4 миллиардов рублей. Швейцарский суд подтвердил обоснованность ареста прокуратурой счетов Дениса Кацыва, отклонив его апелляцию.
Вопрос об уголовной ответственности компаний Кацыва будет рассматривать большая коллегия присяжных США.
«Целесообразно установить путем заседания большой коллегии присяжных вопрос о соучастии ответчиков по иску [компаний Кацыва] в совершении мошенничества, от которого ими были получены доходы», — заявила Прокуратура США.
Задача заседания большой коллегии (жюри) присяжных — решить, достаточны ли основания для проведения уголовного судебного процесса против обвиняемого. Обычно, в конце заседания жюри, обвиняемый оповещается о решении присяжных и назначается дата начала судебного разбирательства.
«Расследование большой коллегии присяжных еще не завершено», — сообщил Департамент юстиции США в своем заявлении.
Ранее в рамках американского процесса против компании Дениса Кацыва стало известно, что Прокуратура США отследила 64 перевода через американские банки на миллионы долларов, полученных от хищения из бюджета 5,4 миллиардов рублей организованной преступной группой Дмитрия Клюева и последующего отмывания украденных у россиян денег.
Напомним, в 2005 году у компании Кацывов («Марташ») в рамках израильского расследования об отмывании денег было конфисковано около 8 миллионов долларов правительством Израиля.
Программа «Справедливость для Сергея Магнитского»
+44 207 440 1777
e‑mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
www.facebook.com/russianuntouchables
http://www.billbrowder.com/Portals/0/downloads/Browder_Red%20Notice_RU_FINAL.pdf
Russian Prosecutor Chaika Reacts to DC Lobbying Failure on Global Magnitsky With New Attack on William Browder
May 21, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate distribution
Russian Prosecutor Chaika Reacts to DC Lobbying Failure on Global Magnitsky With New Attack on William Browder
21 May 2016 – Within 24 hours of the failure of Russian-sponsored lobbyists to remove the name “Magnitsky” from the Global Magnitsky Act at the House Foreign Affairs Committee, at 19:39 on 19 May 2016, the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office responded by making a public announcement of the continuation of criminal cases against William Browder, leader of the Global Magnitsky Justice Movement, and his colleagues.
Lobbyists representing a Russian national who is under investigation for money laundering by the US Department of Justice, approached a number of members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and staffers in the week of May 16, 2016 trying to convince the congressmen to vote in favor of an amendment to remove the name of Magnitsky from the Global Magnitsky Act.
They made a number of defamatory comments about William Browder, the head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, to justify their request. Their efforts failed, except on Representative Dana Rohrabacher, who proposed the amendment. The House Foreign Relations Committee rejected the amendment.
“In response to the failure of Russian state-sponsored smear campaign against William Browder in Washington, the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office decided to re-announce its illegitimate and politically motivated proceedings against him in Russia as “news.” These allegations are three years old and have been previously rejected as meritless and politically motivated by INTERPOL and by the Council of Europe, comprising 47 member states,” said Hermitage representative.
The re-announced criminal proceedings in Russia relate to The Hermitage Fund trading shares in Gazprom nearly twenty years ago. The share purchases had been reviewed at the time by Gazprom itself, the Russian Federal Securities Commission, the Russian tax authorities and the Prosecutor’s Office who all confirmed the lawfulness of the transactions.
“The unfounded, arbitrary and selective accusations in this case are hallmarks of politically motivated abuse of the criminal justice system, which has been characteristic of the Magnitsky case in Russia,” said Hermitage representative.
The Russian state attack on William Browder escalated since the press conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2012 where he was asked about Sergei Magnitsky on seven occasions. In response, President Putin said that he knew that Sergei Magnitsky was not a human rights defender, but “Mr Browder’s lawyer,” and promised to “delve deeper” in the case. A month later, in January 2013, Russian authorities opened criminal proceedings against William Browder in relation to investing in Gazprom shares nearly 20 years ago. This same case was the subject of the Russian General Prosecutor’s announcement on 19 May 2016, one day after Russian propaganda efforts failed to remove the name of Sergei Magnitsky from the title of the Global Magnitsky legislation in Washington, in spite of enlisting a web of lobbyists and consultants of all kinds.
The Russian anti-Magnitsky offensive in Washington was coordinated with the attacks on civil activists at home, with at least two new criminal probes announced against anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny – one for allegedly slandering Pavel Karpov, sanctioned for his role in the Magnitsky case; and another for involvement in a purported CIA operation to murder Sergei Magnitsky in Russian police custody on instructions from William Browder.
“The Russian Prosecutor’s Office is spreading disinformation and abusing its criminal justice system to protect corrupt Russian officials and criminals who stole US$230 million. It is this brazen impunity which necessitates Western Magnitsky sanctions,” said William Browder.
Sergei Magnitsky, Hermitage’s lawyer who uncovered the US$230 million fraud and testified about the complicity of Russian officials in it, was falsely arrested, detained for 358 days without trial, tortured and killed in Russian police custody at the age of 37, leaving a wife and two children.
The unprecedented events of this case are described in the New-York Times best-seller “Red Notice. How I Became Putin’s No 1 Enemy” by William Browder, leader of the global Magnitsky justice movement, and in a series of explosive campaign videos on Youtube channel “Russian Untouchables.”
For more information, please contact:
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
e‑mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
Statement in Response to Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s Remarks at the House Foreign Affairs Committee Mark-up on Global Magnitsky
May 19, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate distribution
Statement in Response to Representative Dana Rohrabacher’s Remarks at the House Foreign Affairs Committee Mark-up on Global Magnitsky
19 May 2016 – On 18 May 2016, the U.S. House Foreign Relations Committee passed the Global Magnitsky bill, which creates consequences for corrupt officials and human rights abusers around the world in the form of visa bans and asset freezes.
During the mark-up of the bill, Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, from Orange County, California, proposed an amendment to exclude Magnitsky’s name from the title of the bill. To justify his amendment, Congressman Rohrabacher referred to a “confusing situation” and “serious questions” that “Magnitsky was being held [in Russian detention] because the Russian Government knew that there was $230 million of tax liability that they did not have the funds, that Mr Browder, that was his tax liability.”
Congressman Rohrabacher’s remarks imply that Hermitage did not pay the US$230 million in taxes to the Russian government, and the Russian government was concerned about recovering these funds from the start. These claims are wrong, and are contradicted by the facts and publicly available documents, including:
(i) Documentary evidence that the US$230 million in taxes had been paid by the Hermitage Fund’s Russian companies to the Russian government in 2006,
ii) Documentary evidence that those US$230 million were stolen a year later through a massive fraud perpetrated by a Russian criminal organisation comprising Russian officials, who stole Hermitage companies and then approved in one day the wire transfers of US$230 million away from the Russian treasury to accounts opened by known Russian criminals to a bank owned by a convicted Russian criminal;
(iii) Documentary evidence that Russian authorities ignored Hermitage’s original reports and complaints about the US$230 million fraud,
(iv) Documentary evidence that the Russian authorities did not look for the stolen money, and instead organised retaliatory criminal cases against Hermitage’s Russian lawyers including Sergei Magnitsky.
The facts of the US$230 million fraud abetted by Russian officials are described in contemporaneous complaints filed by Hermitage, as well as in testimonies given by Sergey Magnitsky naming the perpetrators, bank statements provided by whistleblower Alexander Perepilichnyy showing the acquisition of multi-million dollar properties and cash going to accounts of and for the benefit of Russian officials involved with the US$230 million fraud, millions of dollars in assets and lavish lifestyles of Russian officials implicated in Magnitsky’s testimony for their role in the US$230 million fraud, and, most recently, the Panama Papers’ leak showing some of the stolen US$230 million reaching the corporate account of Sergei Roldugin, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Congressman Rohrabacher’s remarks are also contradicted by findings of independent authoritative bodies, including the Council of Europe, who conducted a year-long independent investigation of the Magnitsky case, and summarized its conclusions in a detailed report adopted in January 2014, called “Refusing Impunity for the Killers of Sergei Magnitsky.” The reportfound the existence in Russia of a “massive cover-up involving senior officials of the competent ministries, the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Investigative Committee and even certain courts” and urged that “the cover-up must be reversed and the true culprits must be held to account.”
In support of his remarks against Browder, Congressman Rohrabacher brought up two articles which presented attacks on Browder by the legal defense team of Denis Katsyv, the son of a Russian official, who is unsuccessfully trying to appeal a US court order and unfreeze US$14 million of his assets seized under the US Government’s money laundering and civil forfeiture action in relation to the Magnitsky case. The U.S. Department of Justice has described Katsyv’s allegations in relation to William Browder as “false,”“wild”, and “untrue,” and his conduct — as “egregious” and “inexcusable.”
Congressman Rohrabacher also criticized Browder for threatening legal action against NBC. The story he is referring to was an attempt by NBC’s reporter Ken Dilanian to repeat allegations from Katsyv’s team that Sergei Magnitsky wasn’t beaten in custody and was never a whistle-blower. Both claims were in contradiction to publicly available evidence from the Russian Government. Prominent Russian human rights defenders, Ludmila Alexeeva and Valery Borschev, who personally investigated the Magnitsky case, spoke out against Ken Dilanian’s attempt to misrepresent key facts about the Magnitsky’s case in public statements and in an open letter to NBC Universal CEO Steve Burke. Ken Dilanian had previously allowed his sources to influence or write his content.
After Rohrabacher’s intervention, the House Foreign Affairs Committee subsequently voted to reject his amendment and passed the Global Magnitsky bill, which will now be up for a vote on the House floor. The date of the vote is not known yet.
The Global Magnitsky bill is named after Sergei Magnitsky, Hermitage’s lawyer who in 2007 – 2008 uncovered a massive fraud perpetrated by Russian officials and organised criminals to steal US$230 million that the three companies of the Hermitage Fund had paid to the Russian government in profit tax a year before, in 2006. Sergei Magnitsky testified about the fraud, named officials involved, was then arrested by implicated officials, kept in custody without trial for 358 days in torturous conditions, denied family visits and medical care, and was killed on 16 November 2009 at the age of 37, leaving a mother, a wife and two children.
In 2010, Sergei Magnitsky was posthumously awarded by Transparency International, a global anti-corruption organisation, with ‘Integrity Award’ in recognition of his stance against Russian corruption and official abuse.
For more information, please contact:
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
e‑mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
https://twitter.com/Billbrowder
Senators Cardin and McCain Call for a Swift Passage of Global Magnitsky After Clearing the House Foreign Affairs Committee
May 19, 2016
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate distribution
Senators Cardin and McCain Call for a Swift Passage of Global Magnitsky After Clearing the House Foreign Affairs Committee
19 May 2016 – Following yesterday’s approval of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights bill by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senators Cardin and McCain called on the House speaker to swiftly bring it to a vote.
“For too long in too many countries, perpetrators of human rights violations and grand corruption have not been held to account for their crimes and yet continue to enjoy travel and financial privileges in the United States. With today’s House Foreign Affairs Committee passage of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights and Accountability Act, we are one step closer to preventing such impunity, — said Senators Ben Cardin and John McCain in a joint statement. — We …call on Speaker Ryan to ensure a full House vote on Global Magnitsky without delay.”
Cardin and McCain, the two original co-sponsors of the Global Magnitsky bill, spoke about the importance of Sergei Magnitsky’s legacy.
“The bill is named for Sergei Magnitsky, who has the unfortunate distinction of serving as a prime example of the corrupt, horrific crimes that befall countless innocent people worldwide. Mr. Magnitsky lost his life for simply doing his job and trying to do the right thing when he discovered widespread fraud and abuse of power in Russia. Just like Magnitsky, human rights defenders are victimized and stigmatized around the globe,” said senators Cardin and McCain.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee rejected an amendment proposed by 68-year old Congressman Dana Rohrabacher seeking to remove the name of Magnitsky from the Global Human Rights bill. To justify his amendment, Congressman Rohrabacher claimed he could not figure out who stole US$230 million from the Russian budget – Sergei Magnitsky or Russian officials. This is despite the fact that the money has been found in the accounts of Russian officials and their families and most recently, through the Panama Papers, on account of Sergei Roldugin, a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Other Congressmen firmly rejected Congressman Rohrabacher’s amendment describing it as an unacceptable attempt to “rewrite history.”
Congressman Connolly said that it was important to call out behaviour of President Putin which did not adhere to international norms, “whether in Crimea or in a prison cell.”
Russian veteran human rights defender Ludmila Alexeeva, chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, sent a message to members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee ahead of the mark up, stating:
“Congressman Dana Rohrabacher has been fooled by the Russian disinformation, and has argued that the name of Sergei Magnitsky be dropped from the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Bill. To do this would be a gross betrayal of the human rights movement, and of the legacy of Sergei Magnitsky who had stoically sacrificed his life in confronting corruption and official abuse in Russia. … To remove his name from the Global Magnitsky Human Rights bill would be a sellout of victims of oppression and abuse everywhere around the world, whom Serge Magnitsky has given hope, and of the principles of integrity he had paid with his life.”
During the mark-up, congressman Engel said the Global Magnitsky bill would show to all that human rights abuse and corruption cannot go on with impunity:
“This legislation would send a powerful message that human-rights abusers and corruption aren’t just internal matters. They are the concern of all countries, and they should not be permitted to go on with impunity.”
On the eve of the Global Magnitsky bill’s mark-up, Russian authorities announced a new criminal case against Alexei Navalny, the Russian anti-corruption activist and Magnitsky sanctions supporter. The new case was opened in response to a complaint from ex police officer Pavel Karpov, who has been sanctioned by the US and the European Parliament for his role in Magnitsky case.
Last month, the Russian authorities also announced another criminal probe opened on another spurious application of Pavel Karpov against Alexei Navalny and William Browder for murder of Sergei Magnitsky in Russian police custody, as part of a CIA plan.
“The reason for the most recent attack on civil society leaders and outburst of the Russian disinformation on the Magnitsky case is the fear of corrupt Russian officials to not be able to enjoy the fruits of their corruption in the West as a result of Magnitsky sanctions. To fight the Magnitsky sanctions, they use fabricated criminal cases, and disinformation both inside the country and in the West. Russian civil society leaders and independent media have been almost completely shut down, while the Russian population is fed a diet of myths and disinformation,” said William Browder, a leader of the global justice for Sergei Magnitsky movement and author of “Red Notice: How I Became Putin’s No 1 Enemy.”
Sergei Magnitsky, who exposed the theft of US$230 million from the Russian budget and gave testimony implicating government officials, was arrested and killed in Moscow detention center in November 2009. Those responsible for his death and those he exposed for the US$230 million theft have not been brought to justice.
Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act passed the U.S. Senate vote in December 2015.
For more information, please contact
Justice for Sergei Magnitsky
+44 207 440 1777
e‑mail: info@lawandorderinrussia.org
https://twitter.com/Billbrowder?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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