Businessman Bill Browder, who was once the biggest foreign investor in Russia but has become a vocal critic of the country and clashed with President Vladimir Putin’s government, said Wednesday that he was detained briefly in Spain on a Russian arrest warrant. Browder, an American-born financier based in the U.K., has said Putin directly orchestrated a Kremlin attempt to influence the presidential campaign of Donald Trump in 2016. He tweeted on Wednesday morning that he’d been arrested on an Interpol warrant, but the international law enforcement agency denied involvement.
“Just was arrested by Spanish police in Madrid on a Russian Interpol arrest warrant. Going to the police station right now,” Browder said on Twitter, adding that the police would not tell him which station he was being taken to. He posted a photo taken from the back of the police car.
Not long after the tweets, the Spanish police told The Associated Press and Reuters news agencies that Browder was not under arrest, had been released from a station in Madrid, and appeared to have been picked up on an expired warrant.
Browder himself then re-emerged on Twitter, confirming his release and accusing Russia of having “abused” Interpol for a sixth time in efforts to have him arrested.
Good news. Spanish National Police just released me after Interpol General Secretary in Lyon advised them not to honor the new Russian Interpol Red Notice. This is the 6th time that Russia has abused Interpol in my case pic.twitter.com/ZonzXizvIJ
