MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The First Court of Appeal of the common jurisdiction recognized extension of the house arrest of Michael Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok private equity firm, and firm partner Philippe Delpal as lawful, a TASS correspondent reports from the courtroom.
"The ruling of the Moscow City Court to be left without changes," the decision on appeal says.
The Moscow City Court extended earlier the house arrest for Calvey, Delpal and ex-Director of Vostochny Bank Alexei Kordichev until May 13.
On February 13, 2019, Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case into the embezzlement of 2.5 bln rubles ($37.5 mln) from the Vostochny Bank on the basis of an application of Bank’s Board Member Sherzod Yusupov. US citizen and founder of the Baring Vostok private equity firm Michael Calvey is the key defendant in the case. Vagan Abgaryan, the partner at Baring Vostok, Ivan Zyuzin, the Investment Director at Baring Vostok, ex-Managing Director Alexander Tsakunov and Director of the First Collection Bureau Maxim Vladimirov are also involved in the case.
The case investigation has been completed. All the persons involved face charges of misuse of funds committed by a group in a particularly large amount.
According to the investigation, Calvey and his accomplices put together a scheme, whereby a 2.5 bln ruble ($31.8 mln) loan received by the First Collection Bureau from the Vostochny bank in 2015 was set off by assignment of shares. Investigators believe that Calvey misled the Bank’s Board of Directors in respect of the value of the First Collection Bureau shares, estimated as the debt amount against the actual value of 600,000 rubles ($7,600), which resulted in actual theft of such money.
Calvey rejected charges and says that the criminal prosecution is the unlawful attempt of Vostochny minority shareholders to settle a corporate dispute.