Freezing Order

A true-life thriller, as Putin's most-feared adversary risks it all to hunt down the source of the Russian president's vast wealth

Reviews

'I was hooked from the first paragraph. More explosive, compulsive and gasp-inducingly, spine-tinglingly, mouth-dryingly, heart-poundingly thrilling than any fiction I have read for years, Freezing Order has a stunning plot - international conspiracy, malign and hidden rings of power and corruption, a dark threat to any hope of world order - but with this stunning twist: it is all true... Browder - with incredible courage, resilience and grace, and always at great risk to his personal safety and freedom - continues to chase after Putin and his henchmen... This is real heroism, and what a cracking good read it makes for.'-- Stephen Fry
'Mind-blowing. Bill Browder takes us down the rabbit hole of Kremlin lawfare where down is up and wrong is right, and powerful Russian interests are trying to upend our legal and political systems. This personal account of Browder's battle for justice is at times terrifying, at times deeply touching - and leads inexorably to a vast money-laundering scheme the Kremlin will seemingly stop at nothing to cover up.' -- Catherine Belton
'[Freezing Order] tells the story of Browder's quest to establish a global regime for sanctioning Russians involved in corruption and criminality. But it reads like an international spy thriller. If its subject matter weren't so grave, the book could be said to have all the elements of a high-octane drama. Murder. Conspiracy. Piles of dirty money. Sexual intrigue. Freezing Order shudders with the constant threat of assassination, abduction or sudden, extreme violence. It is a tense and gripping read. -- Jamie Susskind * The Times *
'Freezing Order is a gripping tale of assassinations, legal battles and billions in cash. It would be entertaining fiction, but as a true story it's a warning and a roadmap for fighting back against the waves of crime and corruption emanating from Putin's Russia and other dictatorships. Bill Browder has shown that one man with courage can make a difference, and that even the most powerful regimes have weak spots. It's an inspiring message we should all heed, and with urgency.' -- Garry Kasparov
'This tale is full of villains - not just the Russians...but also the politicians, lawyers and judges in the West who carry out the Kremlin's dirty work. Despite the complexity of the affair, Browder has made his story into a real page turner. Amid the horrors being reported every day from Ukraine, it also provides a highly readable insight into the true nature of the regime that is responsible for them..' -- Peter Conradi * Sunday Times *
'Browder's account of how he stood up to Putin in the face of danger, arrest warrants, and bullying is mandatory reading for anyone who wants to understand the tactics of modern autocracy.' -- Anne Applebaum
'[A] zesty new book about the theft, extortion, intimidation, lies and murder that are the Russian state's daily levers of power...a breakneck financial thriller compelling breathless attention...splendidly readable... One of the most sobering aspects of Browder's rollicking, dangerous adventure [is] that late-period Putin has found it so easy to manipulate our western democracies from the inside.' -- Julian Evans * Daily Telegraph *
'Absolutely gripping. Bill Browder's new book on the Magnitsky affair follows the money all the way to the top of Russia's murderous kleptocracy. Freezing Order ought to be compulsory reading. Luckily it reads like a thriller.' -- Tom Stoppard
'It's an incredible story, told with pace and panache, that reads like a thriller. There's something deeply offending to our sense of justice about an innocent man framed by powerful forces...but what is most troubling here is how acquiescent the western establishment has been to Russian crimes and lies.' -- Andrew Anthony * Observer *
'Bill Browder's thrilling new book digs deeper into the kleptocratic world enabled and supported by the Russian state, for the benefit of the most powerful and well-connected crooks in Russia and beyond. This exploration of the dark heart of corruption asks the question of what one person can do in the face of such insidious corruption, and makes us ask what we can find in ourselves to stand up and resist those forces that would steal, decieve and murder for their own gain.' -- Eliot Higgins, founder of Bellingcat
'The author has been trying to get the west to take the threat from Putin's Russia seriously for many years. In return, the Putin regime has pursued him around the world. Browder's new book recounts this struggle and is part thriller, part policy prescription. In the aftermath of the invasion of Ukraine it has deservedly become a bestseller.' -- Gideon Rachman * Financial Times Best Summer Reads *
'An essential work by someone who understood long before the rest of the world did just how far corrupt Russian officials and businesspeople will go to defend their ill-gotten wealth, and how foreign lawyers, lobbyists and public relations firms enable them... He expertly walks us through the ins and outs of various legal strategies and developments that include enough high drama, plot twists and colourful characters for a movie. Browder's Freezing Order is not just a cracking good read - it is a reminder of the urgency of addressing the global plague of money laundering.' -- Timothy Frye * Washington Post *
'Could not be more timely in illustrating why the support of Russia's super-rich and their funds have become crucial to Putin's powerbase.' * Independent *
'Fast paced and engaging, Browder's book reads like a spy novel, but it also makes a powerful and remarkably prescient case for the need to use all the legal and financial tools available to separate Putin's financiers from their foreign-held bank accounts and luxury yachts.' -- Katie Stallard * New Statesman *
'Gripping reading... there is no question that Browder's dogged persistence against a backdrop of undoubted stress and personal courage have made an important contribution in highlighting the failures of contemporary Russia and the west alike, and offered new tools with potential to try to redress them.' -- Andrew Jack * Financial Times *
'A must-read for fans of Red Notice... Revealing and damning, exposing Putin and his minions as little more than greedy international criminals. A timely book combining mystifying financial shenanigans with a fast-paced crime saga.' * Kirkus Reviews *
'Riveting...An eye-opening expose of the lengths Putin's cronies will go to hide their crimes and punish their accusers.' * Publishers Weekly *