A prominent critic of the Kremlin says Russia is trying to block his investigation into the murder of a former employee by abusing an Interpol system of warrants that caused him to be briefly detained in Spain on Wednesday.
FILE - In this March 3, 2015 file photo, U.S-born businessman William Browder answers reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Paris. UK investor and Putin critic Browder says on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 in tweet that he has been arrested in Spain on Russian request. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)
"Vladimir Putin and the Russian government are absolutely infuriated that we are bringing them to justice for the murder of Sergei Magnitsky," U.S.-born and London-based investor William Browder told The Associated Press.
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A prominent critic of the Kremlin says Russia is trying to block his investigation into the murder of a former employee by abusing an Interpol system of warrants that caused him to be briefly detained in Spain on Wednesday.
"Vladimir Putin and the Russian government are absolutely infuriated that we are bringing them to justice for the murder of Sergei Magnitsky," U.S.-born and London-based investor William Browder told The Associated Press.
The Spanish police said Browder had remained in police custody "for the minimum necessary time" until the Spanish branch of Interpol "verified that the arrest warrant issued by the Russian authorities for tax evasion was invalid," according to a Spanish-language statement.
The same court convicted Browder of tax evasion in another trial in absentia in 2013.
Browder himself had reported his detention in Madrid in a series of tweets. He posted a photo of himself outside a police station saying he had been released "after Interpol General Secretary in Lyon advised them not to honor the new Russian Interpol Red Notice."
The financier has advocated for U.S. sanctions targeting Russian officials over human rights abuses. He was the driving force behind the Magnitsky Act, named after Browder's former employee, who died in jail after accusing officials in the country of involvement in a tax fraud scheme.
Browder, head of the Hermitage Capital investment fund, said Spanish police took him away Wednesday when he was heading to meet with prosecutors to share evidence on property investments in Spain with funds allegedly linked to Magnitsky's murder.
FILE - In this Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2011 file photo, CEO of Hermitage Capital Management Ltd, United Kingdom, William Browder speaks with The Associated Press inside the Congress Center at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. UK investor and Putin critic Browder said on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 in a tweet that he has been arrested in Spain on Russian request. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo, File)
The Spanish police said Browder had remained in police custody "for the minimum necessary time" until the Spanish branch of Interpol "verified that the arrest warrant issued by the Russian authorities for tax evasion was invalid," according to a Spanish-language statement.
However, in an email, Interpol said it has never issued a Red Notice for Browder. Red Notice alerts are sent to Interpol member countries to locate and arrest specific people based on a national warrant.
As early as July 2013, the international police organization said it erased from its database Russian requests to locate and arrest Browder due to its "predominantly political character."
In December, a Moscow court sentenced Browder to nine years in prison in absentia on charges of tax evasion and funneling money overseas. The financier and Ivan Cherkasov, an associate who was sentenced to eight years behind bars, were also ordered to pay 4 billion rubles ($69 million) to the Russian government in damages.
FILE - In this March 3, 2015 file photo, U.S-born businessman William Browder answers reporters during an interview with the Associated Press in Paris. UK investor and Putin critic Browder says on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 in a tweet that he has been arrested in Spain on Russian request. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere, File)
The same court convicted Browder of tax evasion in another trial in absentia in 2013.
Browder has dismissed the accusations.
"They are using everything they can to stop me, and the abuse of the Interpol system is another example of that," Browder told the AP after meeting Spain's top anti-corruption prosecutor, Jose Grinda, following his release from detention.
Browder said he had shared with Grinda evidence about how 30 million euros ($35 million) allegedly connected to the 2009 murder of Magnitsky had been laundered through investments in Spanish property.
Grinda told AP that Browder is cooperating with the Spanish justice as a plaintiff in the investigation. Spain is among 15 countries following the money trail, the financier said.
"We are hoping that eventually prosecutors here seize property, seize accounts and prosecute individuals so that nobody benefits from the murder of Sergei Magnitsky," Browder said.
The Magnitsky Act became a sore point between the U.S. and Russia after it was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2012. Shortly afterward, President Vladimir Putin signed a law banning American citizens from adopting Russian children, in a move widely viewed as retaliation.
William Browder, a U.S-born Britain-based financier, leaves the anti-graft prosecutor's office in Madrid, Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Browder who has spearheaded a United States law targeting Russian officials accused Moscow of provoking his brief detention on Wednesday in Madrid by Spanish authorities. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
Browder himself had reported his detention in Madrid in a series of tweets. He posted a photo of himself outside a police station saying he had been released "after Interpol General Secretary in Lyon advised them not to honor the new Russian Interpol Red Notice."
He claimed that "this is the 6th time that Russia has abused Interpol in my case."
In a post later in the evening, he showed a photograph of himself upon returning to London. "No worse for the wear," he wrote. "Getting ready for more Magnitsky sanctions advocacy next week."
Fair Trials, a global criminal justice watchdog, said the confusion over Browder's arrest highlighted the serious problems with Interpol's system of global "wanted person" alerts.
William Browder, a U.S-born Britain-based financier, talks to the Associated Press' reporters after leaving the anti-graft prosecutor's office in Madrid, Wednesday, May 30, 2018. Browder who has spearheaded a United States law targeting Russian officials accused Moscow of provoking his brief detention on Wednesday in Madrid by Spanish authorities. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
"Interpol should scrutinize alerts before it puts them out through its international networks," Fair Trials chief executive Jago Russell said in an email Wednesday. "Spain should also exercise sense and discretion before arresting people. The result could have been very different if it weren't for Browder's high profile."
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson welcomed Browder's release, tweeting: "Just spoken to Bill Browder - very glad that he has now been released."
"Moscow should concentrate on bringing those responsible for the murder of #Magnitsky to justice," Johnson added.
Browder led one of the biggest investment funds in Russia for 10 years before he left the country and was barred re-entry in 2006 on the grounds that he posed a threat to national security.
