MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in May, Federal prosecutors in New York announced that Katsyv and the US government reached a case settlement, with Prevezon Holdings agreeing to pay about $6 million until May 15, the date a trial was set for. Earlier on Wednesday, another of Katsyv's lawyers, Faith Gay, said the US authorities were lifting the asset seizure against Prevezon Holdings.
"We are considering all grounds to file a lawsuit not only against Browder, but also [Browder's business partner Ivan] Cherkasov and others [involved in the case], as well as against media, in particular, Novaya Gazeta, which served as the initiator of this issue and the involvement of my client in it," Veselnitskaya said, adding that it would not apply to past statements alone but to all ongoing events and statements as well.
Katsyv is accused by the United States of involvement in a massive tax fraud exposed by Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky working for UK millionaire Browder.
In September 2013, the United States launched a case against Prevezon Holdings, accusing the company of laundering money allegedly embezzled from the Russian treasury. The prosecution insists that Browder was a source of information that allowed it to start criminal proceedings.
The lawsuit was filed within the framework of the so-called Magnitsky case. Sergei Magnitsky, who worked for Browder, was a Russian lawyer who revealed alleged official corruption at the highest levels of the Russian government. He was detained in 2008 and was accused of conspiracy and abatement for tax evasion. He died in the Matrosskaya Tishina pre-trial detention center in Moscow in 2009.
In late 2012, the United States adopted the so-called Magnitsky Act, which imposed travel bans and financial sanctions on Russian officials and other individuals believed to have been involved in Magnitsky's death, the case against him and related matters.
In 2013, Russia sentenced Browder in absentia to nine years in prison for tax evasion and for falsely claiming tax breaks for hiring disabled persons. The court also ruled that Magnitsky developed and implemented a tax evasion scheme while working for the millionaire.
Russia responded to US sanctions by issuing its own blacklist, which includes US officials linked to human rights violations, some of whom were involved in the construction and maintenance of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
In January, Russian Foreign Ministry's Commissioner for Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law Konstantin Dolgov said that Russia continued viewing the Magnitsky Act and US anti-Russian sanctions as an "unjustified" and politically motivated initiative.
Both Browder and Cherkasov are residing in London, and are on an international wanted list.
