Source: Reuters
British businessman Bill Browder, a prominent Kremlin critic, was detained and then released by Spanish police on Wednesday, after a warrant for his arrest he said came from Russia was found to be no longer valid, a police source said.
The head of investment fund Hermitage Capital Management, Browder led a campaign to expose corruption and punish Russian officials he blames for the 2009 death of Sergei Magnitsky, who he employed as a lawyer.
Browder sought to stop Cypriot authorities from cooperating with Russia in a probe which he considered to be politically motivated
A Russian court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia in December after finding him guilty of deliberate bankruptcy and tax evasion.
Browder said on his Twitter account that the Interpol General Secretary had advised Spanish police not to honour a Russian Interpol red notice - a request to locate and provisionally arrest someone pending extradition.
“This is the sixth time that Russia has abused Interpol in my case,” he tweeted, following his release from a Madrid police station.
A police source could not confirm that the arrest warrant came from Russia or what made it no longer valid. The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Browder previously resorted to justice to stop Cypriot authorities from cooperating with Russia in a probe which he considered to be politically motivated.
In the back of the Spanish police car going to the station on the Russian arrest warrant. They won’t tell me which station pic.twitter.com/Xwj27xC7Zd
— Bill Browder (@Billbrowder) 30 May 2018
