MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. In investigating the criminal case of businessman Michael Calvey, Russia should rely on the supremacy of its legislation, while the degree of the defendant’s guilt will be determined in a court of law, Russian President Vladimir Putin told TASS in an interview for the project entitled "20 Questions with Vladimir Putin".

He stressed that the investigative authorities concerned were probing into Calvey’s case. "We need to proceed from our country’s legislation and the supremacy of Russian law," Putin said.

He avoided making any comments, or discussing the question if Calvey was guilty or not. "I cannot say if he is guilty or not until there is a well-founded [court decision]," Putin explained.

Calvey affair

Russia’s Investigative Committee launched criminal proceedings against Michael Calvey over defrauding the bank Vostochny of 2.5 billion rubles on February 13, 2019 following a complained filed by a member of the bank’s board of directors Sherzod Yusupov.

According to the investigation, he 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 to the Vostochny bank in order to pay it back for a 2.5 bln-ruble debt. However, law enforcement agencies say the stake was actually worth 600,000 rubles ($9,100). The defense called the evaluation of shares in question, saying there was no conclusion by financial experts. Calvey pleads not guilty. He argues that the criminal prosecution is an unlawful attempt by Vostochny’s minority shareholders to resolve a corporate dispute.