Who is Bill Browder? Putin Critic Says His US Visa Was Revoked

William Felix Browder, also known as Bill Browder — a British businessman born in the United States — and also a staunch critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin said over the weekend his U.S. visa was revoked. He claimed it was revoked the same day (Saturday) when Russia succeeded in getting Browder added to Interpol's wanted list, reports said.

Putin has sanctioned the move against Browder, who started an international campaign against Russia over the killing of jailed Moscow lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, The Guardian reported Sunday.

Magnitsky was arrested in 2008 and died 11 months after staying in police custody. The incident garnered media attention from across the world and triggered inquiries into accusations of fraud, theft and human rights violations in Russia.

On Monday, however, Browder tweeted: "Great news! My ESTA (US visa waiver) was restored. I successfully checked into a U.S. flight. Now we need to fix bogus Interpol arrest warrant."

Browder became a British citizen after giving up his U.S. citizenship in 1998 to avoid paying taxes related to foreign investment. As Browder's U.S. visa got revoked, he told the Voice of America (VOA) that he hoped the action would be overturned soon.

Talking about his inclusion in the Interpol list, in a phone interview from London with VOA, Browder said he was not just barred from traveling to the U.S. "In fact, it is worse than that. I am banned from traveling anywhere," Browder said. "Any national border that I cross, I will be arrested based on the Russian's illegitimate Interpol notice."

This is not the first time that Russia added Browder to the Interpol list. They have already done the same earlier four times. However, each time, as Browder said, Interpol looked into circumstances and lifted the Interpol notice.

Russia is known for using Interpol against its enemies and has also used the global police organization to pursue, as described by many western nations, as a vendetta against Browder. From 2012 to 2015, Putin tried to put Browder three times on the Interpol list but failed in his efforts.

These developments are the latest twist in the longtime war between Browder and the Russian leader. Browder was a major hedge-fund manager in Russia and he wanted to prove that oligarchs stole money from companies he had invested in, reports said.

In the early 2000s, Putin was Browder's ally and the latter's complaints about corruption could result in his arrests.

Putin was allegedly involved in corruption schemes and building a massive multibillion-dollar fortune. When the young lawyer, Magnitsky, was investigating corruption charges against Putin, he was suddenly arrested by some of the people he had investigated. The arrest was followed by brutal beatings in jail, which eventually resulted in Magnitsky's death.

After Magnitsky's death in 2009, Browder has been working to avenge his friend's death. In his quest, he has also been successful in getting several countries to pass laws in Magnitsky's honor. The latest country to join the brigade was Canada.