The Magnitsky legislation is a series of laws that give governments the power to levy sanctions on corrupt officials who have grossly violated internationally recognized human rights. The legislation is named after Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian tax accountant who was imprisoned, and later murdered, for uncovering and reporting the theft of $230-million by Russian state officials. The U.S. Magnitsky Act was originally intended to sanction the corrupt Russian officials involved in the wrongful imprisonment and murder of Sergei Magnitsky, it began a global movement to pass similar sanction laws that supports human rights advocates by combating a globally pervasive culture of corruption, criminality and impunity.
