Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath

by Bill Browder

He realized that the Russian authorities in charge of the cover-up had made a crucial error when they formally named Sergei as one of the people who had stolen the $230 million. You might recall that after trying to blame the crime on a cadre of dead men, the Russian authorities decided to add a living ex-convict, Vyacheslav Khlebnikov, who would plead guilty in order to make the case appear more legitimate. But what they seemed to forget was that the moment Khlebnikov named Sergei as his “co-conspirator,” Nikolai, as the Magnitsky family lawyer, gained the legal right to see the case file. Nikolai applied for access to it, which was shot down. He applied again. This was also shot down. He applied again. Shot down. Nikolai knew that corruption in the Russian legal system was endemic, but not always perfectly executed. So he kept at it. Finally, on his 12th try, he got a judge who mechanically followed the law and, at long last, granted Nikolai’s request.