American-born British financier William Browder, the founder of Hermitage Capital Management, sentenced to nine years in absentia in Russia for bankruptcy fraud and tax evasion, was “appalled” to hear the response by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders to Moscow’s proposal concerning his case, as he himself told Fox News.
Sanders did not rule out earlier at a briefing that US authorities would allow Russian investigators to question American citizens linked with the Browder case. According to her, Washington and Moscow discussed the matter but US President Donald Trump “didn’t commit to anything.”
However, “he wants to work with his team and determine if there’s any validity that would be helpful to the process,” she said.
“I was absolutely appalled by what I heard at the White House,” Browder said, commenting on the spokesperson’s words. At the same time, he said he was confident that nothing like that would happen.
Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned Browder’s name at Monday’s joint press conference with Trump that took place in Helsinki. He noted that US Special Counsel Robert Mueller heading the ongoing investigation into Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential election could make use of the 1999 Treaty between the US and the Russian Federation on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters in order to question 12 alleged Russian military intelligence officers Washington had indicted in absentia on Friday.
According to the Russian president, in that case Moscow would expect Washington to allow Russian investigators to question US officials and intelligence officers whom Russian authorities suspect of committing offences on Russian soil. That particularly concerns the Browder case, Putin specified.
On Tuesday, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office expressed its readiness to send a request to the US to interrogate American intelligence officers and state officials in connection with the criminal case against Browder.
According to Russian investigators, Browder’s business partners illegally amassed more than $1.5 bln in Russia, failing to pay taxes either in Russia or the United States. Moreover, they transferred the money to the US to fund Hillary Clinton’s election campaign.