Red Notice - Book Review

Red Notice, by Bill Browder, is the true story of a brilliant American investment financier. Bill Browder's grandfather, Earl, was a labor organizer in the 1920s in the United States. He was so good that the Communists spotted him and asked him to go to the Soviet Union. Once there, he fell in love, married, and had three boys. 1932, Earl moved his family back to the United States and became head of the American Communist Party. His association with Communists creates problems for the family that the author parses out in the book.

Bill was born in 1964 and is from Chicago, Illinois. After graduating college and having a few jobs he didn't like, he worked for Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and moved to London. Mr. Browder told BCG that he was interested in Eastern Europe, so when business opened there, they sent Bill. His first assignment was to Poland, where he unhappily told his client they should fire many employees to keep it solvent (they did not take the advice). Bill became interested in the investment potential for the countries no longer under Communist rule and began researching investment possibilities. Following the BCG job, against everyone's warnings, he took a position in Robert Maxwell's investment firm in March 1991. Robert Maxwell, the father of Ghislane Maxwell, the "fixer" to Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Maxwell, in November 1991, was missing at sea; his body was later recovered from the Atlantic Ocean.

Mr. Browder became a vice president at Salomon Brothers before founding Hermitage Capital, making millions of dollars. He built a good name, made many contacts, and traveled everywhere. His first marriage dissolved amicably, and the marriage brought him a son. When he remarried, it was to a Russian woman, Elena.  

We learn about his eventful work history, globe-trotting, and the business climate in Russia. His employees became friends. The details of working in Russia and how they handle matters are quite interesting and shocking.

When Mr. Browder uncovered Russian corruption and decided to expose and go after it, he and his family became targets. His Russian employees were targeted, and he recounts harrowing details of the lengths to which they went to get out of Russia, one even traveling through Seoul, Korea.

One of Bill's lawyers was Sergei Magitsky. He was a young, quite bright lawyer, married with a son. He was born in Ukraine, and his family moved to southern Russia when he was young. Everyone tried to convince Sergei to leave Russia when the targeting began, but he would not. Sergei felt he would not be arrested or prosecuted because he was a lawyer and was telling the truth. He didn't understand the evil of the Putin Regime.

Sergei was arrested and considered a "flight" risk. A litany of lies of which they accused him was brought forth, all of which Sergei denied. With no luck, Bill and his Russian employees worked all the angles they could to get him released. Sergei became very ill in the horrible, cold Russian prison, and they tortured and starved him. He was denied basic needs and badly needed medical treatment for his serious medical conditions and ailments.

Bill Browder dedicated himself to making the Russians pay; he wanted justice for Sergei and Sergei's family. The book details all the meetings, phone calls, plane rides, and interactions with government officials in Europe and the United States. He met with Senator John McCain. Obscure laws could be leveraged to punish the Russians through their banks and holdings. Mr. Browder carefully outlines all the actions taken; the highs and lows of the pursuit of justice are thoroughly documented.

This true story is a crime thriller, spreading to add political twists and endless seemingly insurmountable odds to get justice.

Read it. You won't put it down. You will become fascinated. You will gasp, cheer, and finally cry.

Bill Browder, Head, Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign

Copyright © 3/26/2025 by Andrea O. Corwin

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