Robert "Bob"[1][2][3][4] Ross Amsterdam (born January 1956) is a Canadian international lawyer of the law firm Amsterdam & Partners, with offices in Washington, D.C., and London.
Major cases
editSome of his most well known cases were related to early work in Africa and Latin America. Amsterdam won international litigation on behalf of the Four Seasons Hotel and Resort Group in Venezuela. He also worked the well known Gutierrez case in Guatemala, which involved representing the victims of one of the country's largest alleged tax fraud and money laundering schemes.[5][6] Amsterdam would go on to represent political prisoners such as Eligio Cedeño in Venezuela, African political leaders such as Nigeria's Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, and democracy advocates such as Singapore's Dr. Chee Soon Juan.[7][8]
Yukos case
editIn 2003, Amsterdam was retained by the Russian company Yukos-Group MENATEP to defend former CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky.[9][10][11][12]
In 2005, Khodorkovsky was sentenced to eight years in jail. On the night of the verdict, Amsterdam was accosted by plainclothes security agents in the middle of the night at his hotel room, who attempted to arrest him before he could call his colleagues in the media.[13] In the years since leaving Russia, Amsterdam engaged in a media campaign for the Yukos Group-MENATEP and Khodorkovsky cases.[14]
Thaksin Shinawatra
editRobert Amsterdam was hired in May 2010 by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to serve as international lawyer and adviser to the defence counsel of the "Red Shirts," formal name the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD).[15]
In 2010, Robert Amsterdam "urged the international community not to tolerate the government's violent crackdown on self-proclaimed peaceful protesters",[16] and published a list of alleged human rights and international law violations committed during what he called the "Bangkok massacres".[17]
During the 2013–14 Thai political crisis, Amsterdam delivered a speech to a massive Red Shirt rally in Bangkok. Former Democrat Party member and anti-government protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban criticized Amsterdam for it, to which Amsterdam responded naming Suthep as a Thai Taliban.[18]
Kim Dotcom
editHe is now part of the legal team representing Kim Dotcom, the Internet entrepreneur in the Megaupload legal case.[19]
Republic of Turkey
editRobert Amsterdam and firm were involved in efforts to sue the Gülen movement as part of a wider effort by the Turkish government to suppress it..[20]
Russia-Trump
editAccording to Robert Amsterdam in an April 2017 article in The Independent, there was "no question" that the FBI and United States intelligence agencies had information about Russian entities that had financial relationships with Trump prior to the 2016 United States elections.[21]
References
edit- ^ John, Margaret (8 June 2012). "Amnesty deplores deportation of lawyer Robert Amsterdam from Singapore". Zambian Watchdog. Archived from the original on 5 December 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Bob Amsterdam joins Kim Dotcom, Glenn Greenwald, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden". Amsterdam & Partners. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Robert Amsterdam". Amsterdam & Partners. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
According to the former British Ambassador to Russia, Andrew Wood, "The word that best describes Bob is courage, both moral and actual. He raises questions that are not always welcome, and that is often the proper business of a lawyer."
- ^ "Bob Amsterdam Archives - Robert Amsterdam Zambia". Robertamsterdam.com. 20 April 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "320 F3d 1205 Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts Bv v. Consorcio Barr Sa L - OpenJurist". Openjurist.org. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Marcela Sanchez - Well-Heeled Crooks Feel the Heat in Miami". Washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Robert Amsterdam acts for Chee Soon Juan". Singapore Democrats. 28 October 2008. Archived from the original on 7 March 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Robert Amsterdam to Represent Nigerian Politician Nasir El-Rufai". Robertamsterdam.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2009. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Robert Amsterdam". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Russia". Amsterdam & Partners LLC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ Gatton, Adrian (17 August 2021). "The rise and fall of the oligarch-maker: How one mysterious financier came to sit at the top table of oligarchs and power". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ Smolar, Piotr (7 January 2009). "Robert Amsterdam, avocat sans barreaux: L'avocat d'affaires canadien défend, depuis 2003, l'ancien président du groupe pétrolier russe Ioukos, Mikhaïl Khodorkovski" [Robert Amsterdam, lawyer without bars: The Canadian business lawyer has defended, since 2003, the former president of the Russian oil group Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky.]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2023.
- ^ "Russia: RFE/RL Speaks With Expelled Khodorkovskii Lawyer". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Rfer1.org. 8 April 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Khodorkovsky's Attorney Speaks Out". Cato Institute. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Thaksin's lawyer documents army abuse of Red Shirts". ABC Australia. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Thaksin's new legal muscle". Bangkok Post. 25 May 2010. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ Marshall, Andrew (22 July 2010). "Thaksin strikes back". Reuters. Archived from the original on 24 December 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
- ^ "Response Statement: Suthep Leading a Thai Taliban". Robert Amsterdam Thailand. 7 April 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
'He is a bloody farang, why does he interfere in Thai politics?', Suthep said, repeatedly referring to Mr. Amsterdam as a 'bastard' for suggesting that individual members of anti-democracy network should face international sanctions.
- ^ ""Who's Afraid Of Kim Dotcom? – OpEd"". Albany Tribune. 29 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 February 2013.
- ^ Foe of Turkish President Erdogan slapped with U.S. lawsuit, reuters.com, 9 Dec 2015.
- ^ Sampathkumar, Mythili (15 April 2017). "Former MI6 chief Richard Dearlove says Donald Trump borrowed money from Russia during 2008 financial crisis: Days before taking office, Mr Trump said Russia had never had any 'levarage' over him". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2023.