'Anyone investing in Russia today is out of their mind,' warns Browder

By Jason Corcoran in Moscow

Famed Russian fund manager Bill Browder has warned students of his alma mater at Stanford in the US that anyone investing in Russia now “is completely out of their mind.”

Browder, who established Hermitage Capital in 1996, was once the largest foreign owner of Russian stock. His visa was revoked in 2005 for threatening “the security of the state, public order or public health. ”  The Interior Ministry last month said it is seeking Browder’s arrest abroad on charges that he evaded taxes worth more than 500 million rubles.

Speaking at the Stanford Graduate School of Business last month, Browder said: “Anyone who would make a long-term investment in Russia right now, almost at any valuation, is completely out of their mind. “My situation is not unusual. For every me, there are 100 others suffering in silence.”

Browder said the current charges  against Hermitage are “fabricated” and a response to the firm implicating “certain Interior Ministry officials” in the theft of budget money.

Hermitage has gone public on YouTube with accusations that Russian criminals and high-level government official have colluded to steal companies owned by Hermitage, intimidate or jail Hermitage lawyers, and rob the Russian treasury of at least $230m.

“You can’t steal $230 million from the Russian budget without having very, very senior officials involved,” added Browder.

The English language and Russian language versions of Hermitage’s ten minute YouTube documentary have so far been watched over 77,000 times.

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