In 2009, Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer for Hermitage Capital Management, was tortured and died in a Moscow prison after investigating a $230 million tax fraud committed by corrupt officials. In response to his murder, Congress passed the Magnitsky Act in 2012, sanctioning those responsible for Magnitsky’s death from entering the U.S. or utilizing the U.S. financial system. Three years later, Congress is considering expanding the Magnitsky Act to sanction human rights abusers worldwide (The Global Magnitsky Act).
As the Magnitsky case highlights, agents of grand corruption often count on the Western financial system as a vehicle for legitimizing and protecting their ill-gotten gains. While our financial institutions sometimes welcome the flow of illicit capital, our importance to the global financial system offers us far greater leverage over kleptocratic regimes than is currently acknowledged.
To address the current impetus for expanding the Magnitsky Act, Hudson Institute welcomed Bill Browder, author of Red Notice: A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice.
Join Hudson Institute for a discussion of how the US can build a more resilient and flexible energetics base—one that can meet sustained demand while accelerating the development and fielding of new capabilities.
Join Hudson Institute for a conference with leaders from industry, government, academia, and defense to discuss the latest developments in the US-China AI competition.
Join House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (AL-03) for a fireside discussion with Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow on Congress’s role in revitalizing America’s defense industrial base.
Hudson welcomes Karel Řehka, former chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, to discuss the changing security environment in Europe and its implications for the Czech Republic, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the transatlantic alliance.
