Russian Corruption: Domestic and International Consequences, a new report published today by the Henry Jackson Society, raises Khodorkovsky’s case in the context of assessing Russia’s levels of corruption and how and why the UK should bolster anti-corruption efforts in Russia.

On Khodorkovsky’s case and the implications for corruption and human rights, the report states: 

“Corruption in Russia is often tied, both directly and indirectly, to human rights abuses, by entrenching disrespect for individual rights in the political system. The case of the billionaire political prisoner, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the wrongful imprisonment and death of the whistleblower attorney Sergei Magnitsky aptly demonstrate this.”

“Over the past decade, two cases have achieved almost totemic significance in illustrating the connection between corruption and systemic disrespect for human rights: the almost-ten-year incarceration of former Yukos oil company C.E.O. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the imprisonment and murder of the anti-corruption attorney, Sergei Magnitsky.”

The report’s conclusion on the Khodorkovsky case is that it highlights that in Putin’s Russia the prevalence of corruption trumps judicial independence and individual rights:

“The case became a turning point in illustrating the lengths to which Putin and his allies would go in order to secure their monopoly on power, as well as the turn away from even the pretence of judicial independence and rule of law towards “telephone justice”—the colloquial term for the practice of officials instructing judges of the appropriate verdict. In the process, two men have remained in prison for almost ten years, and become living symbols of the extent to which the imperatives of corruption trump the rights of the individual in Putin’s Russia.”

In terms of the broader picture regarding Russian corruption, the report recommends that a systemic solution is needed, specifically, the meaningful application of the rule of law; judicial independence; government transparency; an end to censorship; and the introduction of genuine political competition.

The report’s conclusion is that the UK can and should play a significant role in encouraging change from within Russia by undertaking the following measures:

• Strengthening domestic responses to the exportation of corruption via the purchase of U.K. assets with dirty funds and the use of the U.K. banking system;
• Undertaking parliamentary measures which increase transparency in relation to corruption, including libel reform and support for  the activities of Russia’s anti-corruption and democratic-reform advocates;
• Passing a U.K. version of the landmark “Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act”;
• Using international platforms such as the G8 presidency to stress the global importance of improved transparency and the systemic reforms needed to tackle endemic corruption.
• Now, more than ever, the U.K. has an interest and a responsibility to support the efforts to hold the Russian state to account for the malignant consequences of its fusion of political and economic corruption, consequences that affect both the Russian people and the wider world.

Commenting on the publication of the report, Alan Mendoza, Executive Director for the Henry Jackson Society said:

“This new report highlights how damaging Russian corruption is proving, both internally and externally. Within Russia, the caustic effect of corruption can be seen in the dysfunctionality and human repression of the Russian political system. Externally, its malign effects are felt through the dispersal of illicit funds around the world, poisoning other countries’ financial systems. The report will make a major contribution towards explaining how we in the West can halt this scourge from spreading.”