Отель Калифорния

[tijd.livejournal.com]

Слова из знаменитой песни Hotel California "you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" вспомнил в своих показаниях в Сенате Билл Браудер, описывая тезис "бывших чекистов не бывает".
https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/oversight-of-the-foreign-agents-registration-act-and-attempts-to-influence-us-elections-lessons-learned-from-current-and-prior-administrations-day-2

Те же слова приложимы к тому, как он описывал отношения между Кремлем и его марионетками:

WHITEHOUSE: You mentioned that the Russians use either bribery or blackmail. Once they have got a person in a foreign country where they want to exert influence enmeshed in a bribery scheme, are they perfectly willing to use their own bribery scheme against that individual?
BROWDER: Oh, absolutely, of course. Effectively, once you enter their world, you're theirs. Once you get stuck in with them, you can never leave.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a56666/russia-putin-oligarchs/



Подготовленные показания Браудера, включая всю историю Сергея Магнитского и закона подлецов, публикует Atlantic:

This was particularly heinous because of the effect it had on the orphans. Russia did not allow the adoption of healthy children, just sick ones. In spite of this, American families came with big hearts and open arms, taking in children with HIV, Down syndrome, Spina Bifida and other serious ailments. They brought them to America, nursed them, cared for them and loved them. Since the Russian orphanage system did not have the resources to look after these children, many of those unlucky enough to remain in Russia would die before their 18th birthday. In practical terms, this meant that Vladimir Putin sentenced his own, most vulnerable and sick Russian orphans to death in order to protect corrupt officials in his regime.
Why did Vladimir Putin take such a drastic and malicious step?
For two reasons. First, since 2012 it’s emerged that Vladimir Putin was a beneficiary of the stolen $230 million that Sergei Magnitsky exposed. Recent revelations from the Panama Papers have shown that Putin’s closest childhood friend, Sergei Roldugin, a famous cellist, received $2 billion of funds from Russian oligarchs and the Russian state. It’s commonly understood that Mr. Roldugin received this money as an agent of Vladimir Putin. Information from the Panama Papers also links some money from the crime that Sergei Magnitsky discovered and exposed to Sergei Roldugin. Based on the language of the Magnitsky Act, this would make Putin personally subject to Magnitsky sanctions.
This is particularly worrying for Putin, because he is one of the richest men in the world. I estimate that he has accumulated $200 billion of ill-gotten gains from these types of operations over his 17 years in power. He keeps his money in the West and all of his money in the West is potentially exposed to asset freezes and confiscation. Therefore, he has a significant and very personal interest in finding a way to get rid of the Magnitsky sanctions.
The second reason why Putin reacted so badly to the passage of the Magnitsky Act is that it destroys the promise of impunity he’s given to all of his corrupt officials.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/07/bill-browders-testimony-to-the-senate-judiciary-committee/534864/

Но ответы Браудера на вопросы еще интересней.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?431852-1/william-browder-overturning-magnitsky-act-putins-top-priority( Read more... )