Discourse: "Putin Overreached Too Much..."
Revamped Article:
"Slicing through two decades," finance guru and activist Bill Browder spills to Peter Bruce in this engrossing edition of Podcasts from the Edge, "Vladimir Putin and his cronies have swiped a staggering trillion dollars from the Russian Treasury."
He's got to keep the populace in the dark or they'd string him up, he continues. This is why he can't halt his aggression towards Ukraine.
Modern-day Russia, Browder asserts, is a far more oppressive regime than the apartheid-era South Africa ever was.
In this riveting exchange, the author of Red Notice and recently Freezing Order, waxes lyrical about South Africa, admittedly his most cherished nation.
He boasts a home in Cape Town, but steers clear due to fears that Putin could pressure the South Africans to nab him and extradite him.
And he frets that they might.
As for the evidence supporting Browder's explosive claim, here's a quick rundown:
- The Magnitsky Case: Browder's Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, exposed a mind-boggling $230 million tax refund scam implicating Russian officials. After Magnitsky laid the scandal bare, he was jailed, allegedly abused, and apparently died from mistreatment in 2009. Browder's investigations hinted that the money from this scheme was funneled away and possibly ended up in the hands of high-ranking officials, though an exact figure of $1 trillion remains elusive[1][2][3].
- The Magnitsky Act: The U.S.'s Magnitsky Act, passed in 2012, levied sanctions on Russians presumed to be behind Magnitsky's demise and the broader corruption affair. This legislation, along with similar laws in other countries, underscores the global consensus on corruption in Russia[2].
- Corruption Rankings: Russia consistently ranks at the bottom of international corruption indices, such as the Corruption Perception Index[1].
- Narratives of Corruption: Books like Browder's Freezing Order delve into his encounters with corruption in Russia and hint at Putin's role. Freezing Order principally focuses on exposing Putin's involvement in corruption and money laundering, giving us a broader picture of utter corruption, but it dodges providing a concrete financial figure like $1 trillion[3].
It's essential to note that while the proof supporting an exact figure of $1 trillion being pocketed by Putin and his coterie is scant, Browder's works and public testimonies highlight rampant corruption and often rely on anecdotal evidence and broader investigative narratives instead of offering a precise financial tally.
- Bruce, in his conversation with Bill Browder, reports that Browder believes Putin and his associates have stolen a staggering trillion dollars from the Russian Treasury, a claim that, though lacking exact proof, is supported by Browder's works and public testimonies.
- In the same exchange, Browder expresses concern that Putin could pressure the South Africans to arrest him due to his criticism of Russia's politics and corruption, particularly war-and-conflicts, general-news, and crime-and-justice issues.
- Browder, in his interview with Bruce, discusses Russia's oppressive regime, comparing it to the apartheid-era South Africa and lamenting that Russia consistently ranks at the bottom of international corruption indices like the Corruption Perception Index.
- In Browder's book, Freezing Order, he delves into his experiences with corruption in Russia, implicating Putin and his colleagues in war-and-conflicts, politics, and crime-and-justice, though the book stops short of providing a concrete financial figure like $1 trillion.
- Despite the lack of concrete evidence for Browder's claim that $1 trillion was stolen, his works and testimonies serve to distract the public's attention from Putin's alleged corrupt practices and human rights violations in Russia and Ukraine.
