Key witness in Preet Bharara’s Russian crime probe was just thrown from fourth floor of building
Just days after Donald Trump took care of business on his end by firing U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, who had been investigating a Russian financial crime ring in New York, it appears the Kremlin is trying to take care of business on its end. According to the BBC, one of the key Russian witnesses in Bharara’s case was just thrown from the fourth floor of a building in Moscow.
Remarkably, Nikolai Gorokhov is still alive and in intensive care. Daniel Sandford of the BBC tweeted this afternoon that “Gorokhov has been “thrown from the 4th floor of his apartment building” in Moscow.” Sandford then added that “Nikolai Gorokhov is in the intensive care unit of Botkin hospital in Moscow with severe head injuries according to Bill Browder.” Browder is a longtime vocal critic of Vladimir Putin.
Gorokhov is notable for two reasons. One is that he was the attorney for Russian political activist Sergei Magnitsky, who was murdered in Russia in 2009, allegedly by Vladimir Putin. But as the Daily Beast has pointed out, Gorokhov was also a key witness in Preet Bharara’s Russian crime probe in the United States. And perhaps most alarmingly, Sandford is also reporting that “Gorokhov was due at the Moscow City Appeals Court tomorrow to argue on behalf of Sergei Magnitsky’s mother.”
It appears the Kremlin is already attempting to float a coverup story involving Gorokhov falling out a fourth story window while he was helping some workers move a bathtub. But it’s entirely unclear why an attorney would be helping workers move a bathtub, particularly one day before he was due to appear in court. Here’s hoping Gorokhov survives his injuries so that we don’t have to add him to the list of nine prominent Russians who have all mysteriously died since the Trump-Russia scandal exploded. Contribute to Palmer Report
