Magnitsky

Sergei Magnitsky was a Russian lawyer who, while working for Hermitage Capital Management in Moscow, helped uncover a large-scale tax fraud involving Russian officials and organized crime. He reported the scheme, which relied on forged tax refund documents totaling roughly $230 million, to Russian authorities and prosecutors.

In 2008 Magnitsky was arrested by Russian police on charges related to the very fraud he had exposed. He remained in custody for more than a year before dying in November 2009 at a Moscow detention facility. His death drew widespread international criticism over the treatment of detainees in Russia and concerns about medical care and due process. Russian officials maintained that Magnitsky died of natural causes while in custody, while human rights groups and foreign governments questioned the circumstances surrounding his death.

The case directly influenced international legislation. In 2012 the United States enacted the Magnitsky Act, which authorizes sanctions against individuals implicated in human rights abuses and significant corruption, including visa bans and asset freezes. In 2016 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act expanded the framework to sanction human rights violators worldwide, not only in Russia. Various other countries have since adopted their own Magnitsky-style laws or measures, applying similar sanction tools to individuals implicated in abuses.

Magnitsky's name has become a symbol in debates over corruption, accountability, and human rights in Russia and beyond. While the legal measures aim to deter abuses by targeting responsible individuals, the case remains politically sensitive, with differing narratives about Magnitsky’s role and the broader cases of corruption and state accountability in Russia.