MOSCOW, September 23. /TASS/. The Tverskoy Court in Moscow has rejected a motion arguing that Philippe Delpal, a defendant in the Baring Vostok case, be given real jail time instead of his current suspended sentence, a TASS correspondent reported from the courtroom.

"The petition of the criminal inspectorate for Moscow has been rejected due to the inability to ensure Delpal's appearance at the hearing," the court decision says.

Earlier, the Interior Ministry put Delpal on the wanted list, and the inspectorate of the Federal Penal Enforcement Service filed a petition with the court due to the convict's failure to fulfill his duties.

As court documents showed, Delpal has not lived at his address in Moscow for about two years, has not been active on social media, and his whereabouts are still unknown. According to his lawyer, Delpal left the territory of the Russian Federation because his Russian visa expired.

In 2021, the court handed suspended sentences to seven people on charges of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($26.9 mln) from Vostochny Bank. Founder of the private equity firm Baring Vostok Michael Calvey and his business partner Philippe Delpal received suspended sentences of 5.5 years and 4.5 years respectively. In June 2023, the court reduced Calvey's term to 4.5 years and Delpal's term to 3.5 years. Most of the defendants' convictions have already been expunged.