Homeland Security says British financier cleared for U.S. travel
WASHINGTON» The Homeland Security Department announced Monday that wealthy financier William Browder, a British citizen who lobbied for a law targeting Russian officials over human rights, was cleared for travel to the United States on Oct. 18, four days before he says he was denied entry into the U.S.
Browder disputed that government account.
Browder tweeted Sunday that Russian President Vladimir Putin placed him on an Interpol travel list and that the U.S. had simultaneously revoked his visa. His comments drew outrage from congressional Republicans and Democrats who immediately demanded answers from American officials.
But the U.S. government said Monday that Browder has never held a U.S. visa and that he was cleared for travel last week.
Browder pushed for the 2012 law named after his former employee, Russian whistle-blower Sergei Magnitsky, that imposed travel bans and froze assets of dozens of Russian officials.
Magnitsky died in jail after accusing Russian officials of stealing government money in a taxfraud scheme.
During an interview with The Associated Press, Browder said he was checking in for a flight to the United States on Sunday when he discovered that he wasn’t able to travel. He said Putin had issued “an abusive Interpol arrest warrant” for him.
“I received a notification from DHS that my Global Entry was rejected on the 19th and a notification from the airline that my ESTA wasn’t valid after that,” Browder said.
The Electronic System for Travel Authorization — ESTA — is administered by the Homeland Security Department and determines the eligibility of visitors to travel to the U.S. under a visa waiver program. Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection program that allows low-risk travelers to have expedited clearance.
The State Department said Monday that Browder had never held a visa, and that many British citizens use the visa-waiver program. In a separate statement, Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Patrol agency said Browder was “manually approved” to travel to the United States on Oct. 18.
The agency did not say whether Browder was on an Interpol list, but noted that “when possible matches to derogatory information are found, applications will be vetted through normal” customs procedures.
In response to Browder’s Sunday tweet, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., and Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, asked the Homeland Security Department to review the action. In a separate letter, New York Rep. Elliot Engel, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked the State Department to reverse it.