MOSCOW, August 7. /TASS/. A Moscow court has convicted Michael Calvey, founder of the Baring Vostok private equity firm, to 5.6 years with probation on charges of the embezzlement of 2.5 billion rubles ($34.1 mln), a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"To sentence Calvey to five years and six months in colony with probation," Judge Anna Sokova read out the verdict, adding the evidence given by Calvey and other defendants in the case are not true.

All other defendants also received suspended sentences with a probation term of five years. Thus, Baring Vostok partner Philippe Delpal received a 4.5 year sentence, director of the fund for investments Ivan Zyuzin - a 5 year sentence, another partner of Baring Vostok Vahan Abgaryan - 4.5 years, the banks’ former managing director of investments Alexander Tsakunov and General Director of the First Collection Bureau Maxim Vladimirov - 4 years each, and former director of the Vostochny bank Alexander Kordichev - 3.5 years.

On February 13, 2019, Russia’s Investigative Committee launched a criminal case into the embezzlement of 2.5 bln rubles ($34.1 mln) from the Vostochny Bank following a complaint by Serzod Yusupov, a minority shareholder in Vostochny Bank, filed with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). Michael Calvey is the key defendant in the case.

According to the initial version of 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 billion-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. The defense later challenged that appraisal of shares referring to the lack of results from the financial investigation. Calvey denies the charges and calls the prosecution against him an illegal attempt of the Vostochny bank minority shareholders to solve a corporate dispute.