The termination of the case against William Browder on charges of illegal purchase of Gazprom shares was confirmed in the Russian Interior Ministry. According to the press center, Browder was accused of fraudulent theft of over 130 million shares in the period of 1999 – 2004, worth more than 2 billion rubles.
“The actions of William Browder were classified as illegal entrepreneurship, according to art. 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, since he had illegally acquired the above shares, using the legal entities controlled by him, without the special permission of the Federal Commission on Securities.
In connection with the change in criminal law, the implementation of entrepreneurial activities without special permission was decriminalized. As a result, in July 2017, the criminal proceedings against Browder on the fact of illegal transactions with shares were terminated, “the Interior Ministry said.