LONDON – Britain’s High Court has thrown out a libel case brought by a former Russian police officer against a London-based financier who is a critic of corruption in Russia.
Retired policeman Pavel Karpov sued Hermitage Capital Management and its chief executive, William Browder, who has accused Karpov of being part of a network of corrupt Russian officials.
Judge Peregrine Simon ruled Monday that Karpov had only minor links to Britain, and dismissed the suit.
The case is part of the labyrinthine saga surrounding the death of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer hired by Hermitage Capital, who accused Russian police officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates after illegally seizing Hermitage subsidiaries.
Magnistky was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion and died in prison in 2009 while awaiting trial.
