The Hill News

I was shocked at Samuel Charap’s amoral and ill reasoned blog earlier this week. I was Sergei Magnitsky's boss, a Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia and I still manage an American law firm in Moscow. After 18 years of real world experience representing American businesses in Russia, I can assure you that compromising American morals and ideals, as he shamelessly recommends, will only encourage Russia’s continued slide into lawlessness.

Sergei was a 37-year-old father of two and a senior partner in an American law firm. He discovered the largest ever theft of Russian state taxes. Following President Medvedev’s call, Sergei fought “legal nihilism” and tried to stop the crime. He took th! e brave step of testifying against the government officials involved in the crime, but instead of supporting Sergei, the Kremlin kept silent and allowed Sergei to be arrested, tortured, and killed by the same corrupt officials he had testified against.

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