Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath

Given the accusations that Prevezon’s attorneys had made against Browder, his lawyers tried again to get John Moscow and BakerHostetler removed from the case for a conflict of interest. The hearing was on the same day as Browder’s second deposition, which was put on hold as a result. This time, Judge Griesa disqualified Moscow and BakerHostetler—but later changed his mind and reinstated them. Browder’s attorney then filed a writ of mandamus, a request for an order to force the court to reverse itself. It was a long shot. However, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York took the filing seriously enough to halt the money laundering case against Prevezon until it ruled on Moscow and BakerHostetler. In April 2016, while still awaiting this ruling, Judge Griesa was “permanently removed from the Prevezon case” (187).

Because of a criminal complaint filed by Browder’s team, the French police raided the luxury villa of a Russian woman in mid-May 2016 and arrested her for money laundering. In the fifth freezing order of the Magnitsky case, the French froze $9 million in her accounts in France, Luxembourg, and Monaco.