The main suspect in the case of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was detained in the Canary Islands. Europol reported .
The press release did not name him, but indicated that the man was the leader of a money-laundering gang that Magnitsky was investigating. It is alleged that she stole at least €219 million from the Russian budget. This money was transferred through bank accounts in Europe, after which it was sent to Spain to buy real estate.
The police found out that at the center of this scheme are Russian citizens who have nothing to do with Spain. The stolen money was sent either to their bank accounts or to fake Spanish real estate agencies with close ties to the Russian-speaking community. After that, they, allegedly on behalf of clients, purchased real estate. To date, 75 objects have been confiscated in Spain, totaling €25 million.
In 2007, the Russian prosecutor's office suspected subsidiaries of the Hermitage Capital investment fund of tax evasion. Magnitsky was the foundation's lawyer. He accused Russian officials and members of the judiciary of using the materials they received to steal more than $230 million from the state, disguised as a VAT refund. In response, Magnitsky was accused of tax evasion, arrested and placed in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center. There he was tortured and deprived of medical care, due to which he died in November 2009 at the age of 37.