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Moscow Deputy Mayor Allegedly Linked to Magnitsky Case

A portrait of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky who died in jail, is held by his mother Natalya Magnitskaya. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

German newspaper Süddeutschen Zeitung has linked Moscow's deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov to the Magnitsky case in an ongoing investigation, the Meduza news website reported Wednesday.

The joint investigation by Süddeutschen Zeitung and Swiss company Sonntagszeitung is looking into leaked information from the so-called Panama papers. The scandal has revealed the offshore holdings of more than a hundred of politicians and officials around the world.

Company Zibar Management transferred more than $336,000 to the account of Estonian firm Transgroup Invest in 2012, Süddeutschen Zeitung reported. A 50 percent share of Transgroup Invest belonged to Liksutov at the time.

Zibar Management was claimed to be one of the entities involved in the 5.4 billion ruble ($81 million) theft from the Russian government budget by head of Hermitage Capital William Browder.

The crime was investigated by a Moscow lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who worked for Hermitage Capital Management. Magnitsky died in a Russian jail in 2009 after being unable to access medical treatment, claim human rights activists and Magnitsky's lawyers.

The incident resulted in the U.S. introducing the Magnitsky Act, which bans certain Russians involved in human rights violations from entering the U.S. The list currently includes 39 individuals, RIA Novosti reported.

Liksutov did not reply to the request for comment from the newspaper.

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