I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4405 
To impose sanctions on persons responsible for the detention, abuse, or 
death of Sergei Magnitsky, and for other gross violations of human 
rights in the Russian Federation, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 19, 2012 
Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Mr. LEVIN, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 
HASTINGS of Florida, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. BURTON of In-
diana, Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia, Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. 
TOWNS, Mr. ROSKAM, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. PITTS, Mr. RANGEL, and Mr. 
TURNER of Ohio) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the 
Judiciary and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To impose sanctions on persons responsible for the detention, 
abuse, or death of Sergei Magnitsky, and for other gross 
violations of human rights in the Russian Federation, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sergei Magnitsky Rule 
of Law Accountability Act of 2012’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) The United States aspires to a mutually 
beneficial relationship with the Russian Federation 
based on respect for human rights and the rule of 
law, and supports the people of the Russian Federa-
tion in their efforts to realize their full economic po-
tential and to advance democracy, human rights, 
and the rule of law. 
(2) The Russian Federation— 
(A) is a member of the United Nations, 
the Organization for Security and Co-operation 
in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the 
International Monetary Fund; 
(B) has ratified the Convention against 
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrad-
ing Treatment or Punishment, the International 
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the 
United Nations Convention against Corruption; 
and 
(C) is bound by the legal obligations set 
forth in the European Convention on Human 
Rights. 
(3) States voluntarily commit themselves to re-
spect obligations and responsibilities through the 
adoption of international agreements and treaties, 
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which must be observed in good faith in order to 
maintain the stability of the international order. 
Human rights are an integral part of international 
law, and lie at the foundation of the international 
order. The protection of human rights, therefore, 
particularly in the case of a country that has in-
curred obligations to protect human rights under an 
international agreement to which it is a party, is not 
left exclusively to the internal affairs of that coun-
try. 
(4) Good governance and anti-corruption meas-
ures are instrumental in the protection of human 
rights and in achieving sustainable economic growth, 
which benefits both the people of the Russian Fed-
eration and the international community through the 
creation of open and transparent markets. 
(5) Systemic corruption erodes trust and con-
fidence in democratic institutions, the rule of law, 
and human rights protections. This is the case when 
public officials are allowed to abuse their authority 
with impunity for political or financial gains in collu-
sion with private entities. 
(6) The Russian nongovernmental organization 
INDEM has estimated that bribes by individuals 
and businesses in the Russian Federation amount to 
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hundreds of billions of dollars a year, an increasing 
share of the country’s gross domestic product. 
(7) Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky died on No-
vember 16, 2009, at the age of 37, in Matrosskaya 
Tishina Prison in Moscow, Russia, and is survived 
by a mother, a wife, and 2 sons. 
(8) On July 6, 2011, Russian President 
Dimitry Medvedev’s Human Rights Council an-
nounced the results of its independent investigation 
into the death of Sergei Magnitsky. The Human 
Rights Council concluded that Sergei Magnitsky’s 
arrest and detention was illegal; he was denied ac-
cess to justice by the courts and prosecutors of the 
Russian Federation; he was investigated by the same 
law enforcement officers whom he had accused of 
stealing Hermitage Fund companies and illegally ob-
taining a fraudulent $230,000,000 tax refund; he 
was denied necessary medical care in custody; he 
was beaten by 8 guards with rubber batons on the 
last day of his life; and the ambulance crew that was 
called to treat him as he was dying was deliberately 
kept outside of his cell for one hour and 18 minutes 
until he was dead. The report of the Human Rights 
Council also states the officials falsified their ac-
counts of what happened to Sergei Magnitsky and, 
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18 months after his death, no officials had been 
brought to trial for his false arrest or the crime he 
uncovered. The impunity continued in April 2012, 
when Russian authorities dropped criminal charges 
against Larisa Litvinova, the head doctor at the 
prison where Magnitsky died. 
(9) The systematic abuse of Sergei Magnitsky, 
including his repressive arrest and torture in custody 
by officers of the Ministry of the Interior of the Rus-
sian Federation that Mr. Magnitsky had implicated 
in the embezzlement of funds from the Russian 
Treasury and the misappropriation of 3 companies 
from his client, Hermitage Capital Management, re-
flects how deeply the protection of human rights is 
affected by corruption. 
(10) The politically motivated nature of the per-
secution of Mr. Magnitsky is demonstrated by— 
(A) the denial by all state bodies of the 
Russian Federation of any justice or legal rem-
edies to Mr. Magnitsky during the nearly 12 
full months he was kept without trial in deten-
tion; and 
(B) the impunity since his death of state 
officials he testified against for their involve-
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ment in corruption and the carrying out of his 
repressive persecution. 
(11) The Public Oversight Commission of the 
City of Moscow for the Control of the Observance of 
Human Rights in Places of Forced Detention, an or-
ganization empowered by Russian law to independ-
ently monitor prison conditions, concluded on De-
cember 29, 2009, ‘‘A man who is kept in custody 
and is being detained is not capable of using all the 
necessary means to protect either his life or his 
health. This is a responsibility of a state which holds 
him captive. Therefore, the case of Sergei Magnitsky 
can be described as a breach of the right to life. The 
members of the civic supervisory commission have 
reached the conclusion that Magnitsky had been ex-
periencing both psychological and physical pressure 
in custody, and the conditions in some of the wards 
of Butyrka can be justifiably called torturous. The 
people responsible for this must be punished.’’. 
(12) Sergei Magnitsky’s experience, while par-
ticularly illustrative of the negative effects of official 
corruption on the rights of an individual citizen, ap-
pears to be emblematic of a broader pattern of dis-
regard for the numerous domestic and international 
human rights commitments of the Russian Federa-
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tion and impunity for those who violate basic human 
rights and freedoms. 
(13) The second trial, verdict, and sentence 
against 
former 
Yukos 
executives 
Mikhail 
Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev evoke serious 
concerns about the right to a fair trial and the inde-
pendence of the judiciary in the Russian Federation. 
The lack of credible charges, intimidation of wit-
nesses, violations of due process and procedural 
norms, falsification or withholding of documents, de-
nial of attorney-client privilege, and illegal detention 
in the Yukos case are highly troubling. The Council 
of Europe, Freedom House, and Amnesty Inter-
national, among others, have concluded that they 
were charged and imprisoned in a process that did 
not follow the rule of law and was politically influ-
enced. Furthermore, senior officials of the Govern-
ment of the Russian Federation, including First 
Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, have acknowl-
edged that the arrest and imprisonment of 
Khodorkovsky were politically motivated. 
(14) According to Freedom House’s 2011 re-
port entitled ‘‘The Perpetual Battle: Corruption in 
the Former Soviet Union and the New EU Mem-
bers’’, ‘‘[t]he highly publicized cases of Sergei 
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Magnitsky, a 37-year-old lawyer who died in pretrial 
detention in November 2009 after exposing a multi-
million-dollar fraud against the Russian taxpayer, 
and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the jailed business mag-
nate and regime critic who was sentenced at the end 
of 2010 to remain in prison through 2017, put an 
international spotlight on the Russian state’s con-
tempt for the rule of law. . . . By silencing influen-
tial and accomplished figures such as Khodorkovsky 
and Magnitsky, the Russian authorities have made 
it abundantly clear that anyone in Russia can be si-
lenced.’’. 
(15) The tragic and unresolved murders of 
Nustap 
Abdurakhmanov, 
Maksharip 
Aushev, 
Natalya Estemirova, Akhmed Hadjimagomedov, 
Umar Israilov, Paul Klebnikov, Anna Politkovskaya, 
Saihadji Saihadjiev, and Magomed Y. Yevloyev, the 
death in custody of Vera Trifonova, the disappear-
ances of Mokhmadsalakh Masaev and Said-Saleh 
Ibragimov, the torture of Ali Israilov and Islam 
Umarpashaev, the near-fatal beatings of Mikhail 
Beketov, Oleg Kashin, Arkadiy Lander, and Mikhail 
Vinyukov, and the harsh and ongoing imprisonment 
of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Alexei Kozlov, Platon 
Lebedev, and Fyodor Mikheev further illustrate the 
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grave danger of exposing the wrongdoing of officials 
of the Government of the Russian Federation, in-
cluding Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, or of seek-
ing to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote inter-
nationally recognized human rights and freedoms. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 
and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 
section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
(8 U.S.C. 1101). 
(2) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Financial Services, the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on 
Homeland Security, and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Armed Services, the 
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Homeland Security and Gov-
ernmental Affairs, and the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate. 
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(3) FINANCIAL
INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘fi-
nancial institution’’ has the meaning given that term 
in section 5312 of title 31, United States Code. 
(4) 
UNITED
STATES
PERSON.—The 
term 
‘‘United States person’’ means— 
(A) a United States citizen or an alien law-
fully admitted for permanent residence to the 
United States; or 
(B) an entity organized under the laws of 
the United States or of any jurisdiction within 
the United States, including a foreign branch of 
such an entity. 
SEC. 4. IDENTIFICATION OF PERSONS RESPONSIBLE FOR 
THE DETENTION, ABUSE, AND DEATH OF 
SERGEI MAGNITSKY AND OTHER GROSS VIO-
LATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 
publish in the Federal Register a list of each person the 
Secretary of State has reason to believe— 
(1) is responsible for the detention, abuse, or 
death of Sergei Magnitsky, participated in efforts to 
conceal the legal liability for the detention, abuse, or 
death of Sergei Magnitsky, financially benefited 
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from the detention, abuse, or death of Sergei 
Magnitsky, or was involved in the criminal con-
spiracy uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky; or 
(2) is responsible for extrajudicial killings, tor-
ture, or other gross violations of internationally rec-
ognized human rights committed against individuals 
seeking— 
(A) to expose illegal activity carried out by 
officials of the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration; or 
(B) to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote 
internationally recognized human rights and 
freedoms, such as the freedoms of religion, ex-
pression, association, and assembly, and the 
rights to a fair trial and democratic elections; 
or 
(3) acted as an agent of or on behalf of a per-
son in a matter relating to an activity described in 
paragraph (1) or (2). 
(b) UPDATES.—The Secretary of State shall update 
the list required by subsection (a) as new information be-
comes available. 
(c) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—A person shall be re-
moved from the list required by subsection (a) if the per-
son demonstrates to the Secretary of State that the person 
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did not engage in the activity for which the person was 
added to the list. 
(d) REQUESTS
BY CHAIRPERSON
AND RANKING 
MEMBER
OF APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT-
TEES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 
after receiving a written request from the chair-
person and the ranking member of one of the appro-
priate congressional committees with respect to 
whether a person meets the criteria for being added 
to the list required by subsection (a), the Secretary 
of State shall submit a response to the chairperson 
and ranking member of the committee which made 
the request with respect to whether or not the Sec-
retary determines that the person meets those cri-
teria. 
(2) FORM.—The Secretary of State may submit 
a response required by paragraph (1) in classified 
form if the Secretary determines that it is necessary 
for the national security interests of the United 
States to do so. 
(3) REMOVAL.—If the Secretary of State re-
moves from the list required by subsection (a) a per-
son who has been placed on the list at the request 
of the chairperson and the ranking member of one 
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of the appropriate congressional committees, the 
Secretary shall provide that chairperson and ranking 
member with any evidence that contributed to the 
removal decision. The Secretary may submit such 
evidence in classified form if the Secretary deter-
mines that such is necessary for the national secu-
rity interests of the United States. 
(e) NONAPPLICABILITY OF CONFIDENTIALITY RE-
QUIREMENT WITH RESPECT TO VISA RECORDS.—The 
Secretary of State shall publish the list required by sub-
section (a) without regard to the requirements of section 
222(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1202(f)) with respect to confidentiality of records per-
taining to the issuance or refusal of visas or permits to 
enter the United States. 
SEC. 5. INADMISSIBILITY OF CERTAIN ALIENS. 
(a) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS.—An alien is ineligible 
to receive a visa to enter the United States and ineligible 
to be admitted to the United States if the alien is on the 
list required by section 4(a). 
(b) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.—The Secretary of 
State shall revoke, in accordance with section 221(i) of 
the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), 
the visa or other documentation of any alien who would 
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be ineligible to receive such a visa or documentation under 
subsection (a). 
(c) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.— 
The Secretary of State may waive the application of sub-
section (a) or (b) in the case of an alien if— 
(1) the Secretary determines that such a waiv-
er— 
(A) is necessary to permit the United 
States to comply with the Agreement between 
the United Nations and the United States of 
America regarding the Headquarters of the 
United Nations, signed June 26, 1947, and en-
tered into force November 21, 1947; or 
(B) is in the national security interests of 
the United States; and 
(2) prior to granting such a waiver, the Sec-
retary provides to the appropriate congressional 
committees notice of, and a justification for, the 
waiver. 
(d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of 
State shall prescribe such regulations as are necessary to 
carry out this section. 
SEC. 6. FINANCIAL MEASURES. 
(a) FREEZING OF ASSETS.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall, pursuant to the International Emergency 
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Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), freeze and 
prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in 
property of a person that the Secretary determines has 
engaged in an activity described in paragraph (1), (2), or 
(3) of section 4(a) if such property and interests in prop-
erty are in the United States, come within the United 
States, or are or come within the possession or control 
of a United States person. 
(b) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS.— 
The Secretary of the Treasury may waive the application 
of subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that such a 
waiver is in the national security interests of the United 
States. Prior to granting such a waiver, the Secretary 
shall provide to the appropriate congressional committees 
notice of, and a justification for, the waiver. 
(c) ENFORCEMENT.— 
(1) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at-
tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 
violation of this section or any regulation, license, or 
order issued to carry out this section shall be subject 
to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) 
of section 206 of the International Emergency Eco-
nomic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same ex-
tent as a person that commits an unlawful act de-
scribed in subsection (a) of such section. 
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(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR FINANCIAL INSTITU-
TIONS.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 120 
days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall pre-
scribe regulations to require each financial in-
stitution that is a United States person to cer-
tify to the Secretary that, to the best of the 
knowledge of the financial institution, the finan-
cial institution has frozen all assets within the 
possession or control of the financial institution 
that are required to be frozen pursuant to sub-
section (a). 
(B) PENALTIES.—The penalties provided 
for in sections 5321(a) and 5322 of title 31, 
United States Code, shall apply to a financial 
institution that violates a regulation prescribed 
under subparagraph (A) in the same manner 
and to the same extent as such penalties would 
apply to any person that is otherwise subject to 
such section 5321(a) or 5322. 
(d) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.—The Secretary of the 
Treasury shall issue such regulations, licenses, and orders 
as are necessary to carry out this section. 
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SEC. 7. REPORT TO CONGRESS. 
Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and annually thereafter, the Secretary 
of State and the Secretary of the Treasury shall submit 
to the appropriate congressional committees a report on— 
(1) the actions taken to carry out this Act, in-
cluding— 
(A) the number of persons added to or re-
moved from the list required by section 4(a) 
during the year preceding the report, the dates 
on which such persons have been added or re-
moved, and the reasons for adding or removing 
them; and 
(B) if few or no such persons have been 
added to that list during that year, the reasons 
for not adding more such persons to the list; 
and 
(2) efforts by the executive branch to encourage 
the governments of other countries to impose sanc-
tions that are similar to the sanctions imposed under 
this Act. 
SEC. 8. TERMINATION. 
The provisions of this Act shall terminate on the date 
that is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act. 
Æ 
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