International Law

Russian Lawyer, 37, Dies in Prison After Pursuing Claimed Kremlin Fraud

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A Russian lawyer who helped a London-based hedge fund pursue a claimed massive fraud in which Kremlin officials allegedly participated has died in prison, where he was awaiting trial for conspiracy in a related case.

Sergei Magnitsky died yesterday at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention center, reports the London Times. The former Firestone Duncan practitioner was 37 years old.

He died of a heart attack, according to the Russian Prosecutor-General’s office. The newspaper says Magnitsky’s lawyers were told today that his abdominal membrane had ruptured.

He was arrested in 2008 after accusing senior Interior Ministry officials of participating in a massive looting of companies owned by the Hermitage Capital hedge fund and HSBC.

Additional coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “Civil Practice Puts Russian Lawyers at Risk of Violence and Criminal Charges”

Reuters: “Witness in Russia’s Browder dispute dies in custody”

Updated at 3:16 p.m. to link to Reuters article.

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