UPDATE (6:44pm ET): Browder tweets his visa has been restored:
The Kremlin has an arrest warrant via Interpol for Bill Browder, a hedge fund manager whose tax lawyer -- Segei Magnitsky -- exposed a $230 million Russian scheme that led to his imprisonment and murder while in custody.
Browder lives in London and is a human rights activist who lobbies for the Magnitsky Act in honor of his friend. The Magnitsky Act is a sharp thorn in Putin's side, and getting it repealed is his top priority:
The act freezes the U.S. assets of Russians guilty of human rights abuses and prohibits them from getting American visas. Not only does this impact Putin’s access to wealth, but it also calls into question his promised ability to protect his oligarchs and the true magnitude of his global power.
Browder explains what Putin's latest move means:
Unless Interpol lifts this notice, I will be arrested at any international border I cross on Putin’s orders
Interpol has rejected four previous attempts to call for Browder's arrest because they were politically motivated. However, this time Russia exploited a loophole, and now the U.S. State Department - at the same time - has revoked Browder's visa.
National Review's senior editor Jay Nordlinger:
The Magnitsky Act drives Putin nuts. It means that his men can’t act as they always have, i.e., with impunity. Now there are consequences, which is a problem for Putin. Four countries have Magnitsky acts: the U.S., Britain, Estonia, and now Canada. (They passed theirs last week.)
Browder is a driver behind these Magnitsky acts, and Putin hates him for it, understandably. Twice in 2013, he tried to add Browder to Interpol’s wanted list, and twice he failed, because Interpol knew that Putin was politically motivated. Browder is not a criminal. He is an anti-criminal, which is why Putin targets him.
(...)
In the wake of Canada’s new Magnitsky act, Putin has tried again. Tried for a fifth time. Interpol has accepted his request. Worse, the U.S. government seems in partnership with the Kremlin: Our government has revoked Browder’s visa. (American-born, Browder is a British citizen.)
What the …? Let this error be corrected speedily. It’s Putin’s killers and thieves who should be barred from the U.S., not their nemesis, Browder.
Several prominent voices are speaking out on Browder's behalf, including former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), and former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara.
The Kremlin is pushing an absurd case against Browder, claiming he -- and not the people who denied Sergei Magnitsky care and beat him in custody - is responsible for the murder of his friend and lawyer:
Mr. Browder, who was living in London at the time, began lobbying Western governments to punish those responsible for Mr. Magnitsky’s death, an effort that bore fruit when the United States, Estonia and most recently, Canada, imposed sanctions on Russians involved in Mr. Magnitsky’s death.
That campaign touched off a nasty confrontation with the Kremlin, and the two sides have been trying ever since to undermine the credibility of the other. Recently, however, Russian prosecutors have taken that effort to a remarkable new level, claiming that Mr. Magnitsky was actually murdered by Mr. Browder.
Why Is Bill Browder Banned from America? (National Review)
Turning Tables in Magnitsky Case, Russia Accuses a Nemesis of Murder (NYT)
State Department Reportedly Revokes Visa Of Magnitsky Act Campaigner (NPR)
Exclusive: Why One of Vladimir Putin's Biggest Critics is Banned from U.S. (Newsweek)