Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath

Bill Browder arrived in Spain to meet with an anti-corruption prosecutor, José Grinda, and tell him Sergei Magnitsky’s story. Browder’s friend and a Russian lawyer, Magnitsky was murdered by Russian authorities in prison. Magnitsky exposed how Russian criminals profited from a $230 million tax rebate fraud. Of that dirty money, $33 million was used to purchase a property on the Spanish Riviera. That purchase gave the Spanish prosecutor jurisdiction.

When Browder checked into his hotel, he learned that he’d been upgraded to a luxurious suite. However, the next morning he was taken into police custody because of a Russian request of Interpol. Fearing that he was being kidnapped and taken to Russia, Browder posted his arrest on Twitter before his phone was confiscated. That saved him. Hundreds of people called Interpol and the Spanish authorities. The very people whom he was there to incriminate were trying to turn the tables and arrest him on false pretenses. Once this was discovered, Browder was released and arrived 45 minutes late for his meeting with the prosecutor.

On his 11th birthday, Browder received a sterling silver flute. One day, while he was on his way to school in Chicago, three teenagers confronted him and stole his flute.