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Friday 27 March
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
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Bill Browder is a financier and political activist whose campaign to punish human rights abusers has made him some powerful enemies, including Russian President Vladimir Putin. In this conversation with Sally Warhaft, he’ll discuss his encounters with the Russian state.
In 2005, Browder was based in Moscow. His company was among the biggest foreign investors in Russia. But he exposed corruption in state-owned Russian companies and was deported – declared a ‘threat to national security’. His lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, subsequently uncovered a US $230 million tax fraud perpetrated by Russian government officials. Magnitsky was imprisoned without trial and tortured; he died in jail in 2009.
Since then, Browder has written a book, Red Notice, that tells his story, and has led the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign to convince governments around the world to impose targeted visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers and highly corrupt officials. The United States and Canada have both adopted versions of the Magnitsky Act, and Browder wants Australia to be next.
He’ll discuss high finance, kleptocracy and justice.
Featuring
Sally Warhaft
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She is the host of The Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, and The Leap Year ...
Bill Browder
Bill Browder is the founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, head of the Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign and author of Red Notice.
William Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country and declared 'a threat to national security' for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies.
In 2008, Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered a massive fraud committed by Russian government officials that involved the theft of US $230 million of state taxes. Sergei testified against state officials involved in this fraud and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned without trial and systematically tortured. He spent a year in prison under horrific detention conditions, was repeatedly denied medical treatment, and died in prison on November 16, 2009, leaving behind a wife and two children.
Since then, Browder has sought justice outside of Russia and started a global campaign for governments around the world to impose targeted visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers and highly corrupt officials. The United States was the first to impose these targeted sanctions with the passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act in 2012, followed by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2016. Since then, Canada, United Kingdom, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Kosovo have passed their own versions of the Magnitsky Act. Browder is currently working to have similar legislation passed across the European Union and other countries worldwide including Australia.