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Vladimir Putin is NOT a nice guy. He should not be trusted.
The trail of blood and death that visits those who dare criticize him is Epic.
And this is the guy top of Rex Tillerson’s “Friends” and “Business Associates” Lists — more important than Nato-Country members by most accounts.
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Well one victim of Vlad’s corruption, has so far managed to elude the fate of others, who dare challenge the legality and morality of Putin’s government. But it’s not like he hasn’t been warned. It’s not like his own Lawyer hasn’t paid the “ultimate price” for speaking out, and pushing-back, in Vlad-land
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The former banker claims Vladimir Putin runs Russia like a crime syndicate.
by Luke Harding, The Guardian — 25 January 2015
[...] [Bill] Browder’s reluctance to avoid bumping into anyone with Kremlin connections is understandable. As he explains, matter-of-factly: “They [the Kremlin] threatened to kill me. It’s pretty straightforward.”
American-born Browder is one of Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critics. For over a decade he lived in Moscow and ran the most successful investment fund in Russia. Initially, he was a fan of Putin’s. But in 2005 he was deported from the country. A corrupt group of officials expropriated his fund, Hermitage Capital, and used it to make a fraudulent tax claim. They stole $230m (£153m).
Stuck in London, Browder hired a team to fight his case. The same Russian officials arrested his lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, after Magnitsky uncovered the money trail and made a complaint. They put Magnitsky in jail and refused him medical treatment. (Magnitsky suffered from pancreatitis and gall stones.) After he had spent almost a year behind bars, guards beat him to death. He was 37 and married with two small boys.
The incident had a transforming effect on Browder. [...]
Fast-forward to recent weeks, when a new brave Lawyer dare pick-up, where others left off
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Nikolai Gorokhov, the lawyer for Russian whistleblower Sergei L. Magnitsky, was seriously injured days before he was to appear in court.
by Snopes.com staff — Mar 22, 2017
On 21 March 2017, Nikolai Gorokhov, a lawyer representing the family of Russian whistleblower Sergei L. Magnitsky, was gravely injured in a four-story fall. The fall came days before he was to appear in court to represent Magnitsky’s mother, Natalia Magnitskaya.
Magnitsky reportedly discovered a $230 million fraud perpetrated by Russian officials using documents they found when they raided the offices of London-based financial firm, Hermitage Capital Management. At the time, Magnitsky was working as a lawyer for the firm, which was run by William Browder.
Both Magnitsky and Browder were charged with the crime that Magnitsky allegedly uncovered. Browder was arrested in absentia. Magnitsky died in prison in 2009 after being denied medical care for gallstones and pancreatitis. In 2013, the Guardian reported:
Magnitsky was thrown into one of Russia’s harshest pre-trial detention centres, repeatedly denied medical care and allowed to die. A presidential human-rights commission later found evidence that he was tortured.
In a surprising move, Russia posthumously charged and convicted Magnitsky for the very tax crimes he had uncovered. [...]
This next NPR report is well worth listening to, as the Bill Browder still dares to tell his story. Mr Browder explains to Scott Simon in stark terms, why Putin and his wealthy cronies — still should not be trusted. No matter how much the Rex and the Donald may try to tell us, otherwise.
Bill Browder should know. He a former Russian capitalist; and he is a “marked man.”
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When A Russian Lawyer Falls Out Of A Window, 'I Don't Think It's An Accident'
by Editor • 9 hours ago — NPR [Click & Listen to the Podcast, to get the entire story.]
[...]
[SCOTT] SIMON: He [Nikolai Gorokhov] was also due to testify in a federal court in New York, as I understand it. Is that case related to the one in Moscow?
[WILLIAM] BROWDER: It's exactly related. The case in New York involves Sergei Magnitsky, the lawyer's - whose mother Nikolai Gorokhov represents. Sergei Magnitsky had exposed a $230 million corruption scheme that the Russian government had perpetrated. And after exposing it he was killed. And since then, we have been trying to find out where that money went. And we ended up tracking some of that money to apartment buildings in New York. [...]
[...]
SIMON: What should Americans know as we confront what seems to be rounds of investigations that could go on into the U.S.-Russia relationship?
BROWDER: Well, I think the first thing that every American should know is that Russia is not a normal country. Putin is not a normal head of a sovereign state. This is a criminal state run by a mafia boss. It's like Pablo Escobar except that Pablo Escobar, in this particular case, has a large military force and nuclear weapons.
This “powerful leader” Putin, is the guy that Candidate Trump pledged to “normalize relations” with, as he said in his “Foreign Policy” speech, immediately after his mysterious Mayflower event, last spring:
Transcript: Donald Trump’s Foreign Policy Speech
New York Times, April 27, 2016
[...]
We desire to live peacefully and in friendship with Russia and China. We have serious differences with these two nations, and must regard them with open eyes, but we are not bound to be adversaries. We should seek common ground based on shared interests.
Russia, for instance, has also seen the horror of Islamic terrorism. I believe an easing of tensions, and improved relations with Russia from a position of strength only is possible, absolutely possible. Common sense says this cycle, this horrible cycle of hostility must end and ideally will end soon. Good for both countries.
Some say the Russians won’t be reasonable. I intend to find out. If we can’t make a deal under my administration, a deal that’s great — not good, great — for America, but also good for Russia, then we will quickly walk from the table. It’s as simple as that. We’re going to find out.
Beware of the Ides of Idiots. … and their Mafia-like sponsors, with ultra-deep pockets.
Especially if they have a vicious penchant for holding a grudge.