MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot wield any influence whatsoever over the investigation into the case of Baring Vostok and its founder Michael Calvey, who has been arrested, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, warning against making any conclusions on how this case could impact Russia’s investment climate.
The Kremlin spokesman confirmed that Putin had been informed about Baring Vostok’s request in an open letter to the president to take personal control of the criminal case initiated against Calvey and other defendants. "Certainly, the president has been told about this letter, the president has also been informed about other requests published these days," he said.
"This is a high-profile case, and it is under special control of investigative bodies," Peskov noted.
"In no way can the president interfere with these investigative actions," he stressed.
Peskov responded to a remark by Finance Minister Anton Siluanov that law enforcement steps in the Baring Vostok case are tarnishing Russia’s investment climate. The spokesman stated, "Here we can hardly speak about this as something institutional, as part of a larger picture, these are issues related to obeying the law, and security agencies should deal with these matters, and on the other hand, here we need to and should speak only about particular cases. Any conclusions are hardly possible here," Peskov said.
The spokesman also noted that "until the court’s ruling, it is impossible to say that anyone is guilty."
Baring Vostok-Calvey case background
Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case into the embezzlement of 2.5 bln rubles ($37.5 mln) from the Vostochny Bank on February 13. Michael Calvey is the key defendant in the case. On February 15, the law enforcement agencies arrested Calvey and five others: Vagan Abgaryan, partner at Baring Vostok, Philippe Delpale, an investment partner for the financial industry sector at Baring Vostok, Ivan Zyuzin, Investment Director at Baring Vostok and also General Director of the First Collection Bureau Maxim Vladimirov and Advisor to the Management Board of Norvik Bank, Alexey Kordichev. They are all facing charges under part 4 article 159 of Russia’s Criminal Code (Swindling committed on a large scale by an organized group).
According to the investigation, Calvey and his accomplices put together a scheme, where the "First Collection Bureau", under their control, waived its right to a 59.9% stake in a Luxembourg-based company called the International Financial Technology Group (IFTG), to the Vostochny bank to pay it back for a 2.5 bln-ruble debt. Before the deal, IFTG’s shares were valued at 3 bln rubles. However, the investigation is examining another estimate of 600,000 rubles (according to a Cyprus-based company’s valuation). That said, the Central Bank claimed that the price of these shares was close to zero, the investigator noted.
Baring Vostok, one of the largest private equity firms focusing on Russia and the CIS, has poured more than $2.4 bln of investments into 70 projects in the areas of financial services, oil and gas, telecommunications and media, as well as into the consumer sector since 1994. Baring Vostok’s projects include CTC Media, Yandex, Avito, Ozon, ER-Telecom, 1C, and Novomet.