The Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation (HRAGI or HRAGIF) is a
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
–based lobby group, nominally focused on restoring American
adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, fro ...
of Russian children.
It is being investigated as part of the
2017 Special Counsel investigation.
It is reportedly defunct.
History
The organization was registered in
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
on February 16, 2016, with two nominal employees.
The organization rented the
Newseum
The Newseum (April 18, 1997–March 3, 2002 and April 11, 2008–December 31, 2019) was an American museum located first in Rosslyn, Virginia, and later at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, in Washington, D.C., dedicated to news and journalism that ...
to screen
Andrei Nekrasov's ''
The Magnitsky Act – Behind the Scenes'', a film aimed at discrediting
Sergei Magnitsky
Sergei Leonidovich Magnitsky (, ; ; 8 April 1972 – 16 November 2009) was a Russian tax advisor responsible for exposing corruption and misconduct by Russian government officials while representing client Hermitage Capital Management. His ...
.
Purpose
The nominal purpose of the HRAGI is “to help restart American adoption of Russian children”, though news organizations have reported that its primary purpose was to serve as a vehicle to lobby against
international sanctions on Russia.
Financing
The foundation has received over $500,000 in financing, mostly from Russian politician Petr Katsyv who is the father of
Denis Katsyv.
Other major donors include Russian businessmen Mikhail Ponomarev and Albert Nasibulin, and $100,000 from a German company called Berryle Trading Inc.
Staff
The organization was founded by
Natalia Veselnitskaya. The HRAGI hired lobbyists, including former Representative
Ron Dellums
Ronald Vernie Dellums (November 24, 1935 – July 30, 2018) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Oakland from 2007 to 2011. He had previously served thirteen terms as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California ...
, to lobby against the
Magnitsky Act
The Magnitsky Act, formally known as the Russia and Moldova Jackson–Vanik Repeal and Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012, is a bipartisan bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in D ...
.
Dellums denied involvement with the group.
Anatoly Samochornov (), who is a Russian-born professional interpreter, is another lobbyist and is a projectmanager for the US State Department.
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
that Ed Lieberman and BakerHostetler
BakerHostetler is an American law firm founded in 1916. One of the firm's founders, Newton D. Baker, was U.S. Secretary of War during World War I, and former Mayor of Cleveland, Ohio.
History
, the firm was ranked the 73rd-largest law firm in t ...
actually oversaw the incorporation on February 18, 2016.
References
{{Reflist, 2
External links
Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation website (archive.org)
Lobbying organizations in the United States
Lobbying organizations based in Washington, D.C.