January 25, 2016
A complex and contentious civil money laundering case involving an alleged $230 million Russian tax fraud just got more complicated.
On Monday, the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put the case on hold two days before it was set to go to trial in Manhattan federal court.
Federal prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office have accused several Russian businessmen and their company Prevezon Holdings of laundering the proceeds of the alleged Russian tax fraud – allegations they have denied. London-based hedge fund Hermitage Capital, and founder William Browder, have provided information to prosecutors and could testify at trial against the defendants.
The alleged tax fraud at issue in this case was exposed by Mr. Browder’s Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 by the Russian officials he accused. He died in prison in 2009. Since then, Mr. Browder has campaigned to find those responsible for Mr. Magnitsky’s death and has lobbied prosecutors to pursue cases related to the alleged tax fraud, including the current case against Mr. Katsyv.