According to the website of the Canadian government, the individuals were sanctioned over "acts of significant corruption" and "gross violations" of human rights.

Axar.az reports that the Global Affairs Canada stated that that sanctions, effective immediately, target people linked to "acts of significant corruption surrounding the $230-million tax fraud uncovered by Sergei Magnitsky in 2008 and to the subsequent gross violations of his legal and human rights during his investigation and pretrial detention, including psychological and physical abuse that ultimately led to his death in a Russian detention center in November 2009,"

There are 30 people on the sanctions list, including former First Deputy Prosecutor General of Russia Alexander Bastrykin.

"Canada has long expressed deep concern about the case of Sergei Magnitsky and what it reflects about the state of the Russian justice system and the rule of law," the statement reads.