MOSCOW, June 23 (RAPSI) – The Moscow City Court on Tuesday upheld extension of house arrest for Baring Vostok investment company's founder Michael Calvey in the 2.5-billion-ruble (about $40 million) embezzlement case until August 13, RAPSI learnt from the court’s press service.

House arrest of other defendants, Baring Vostok partner for the financial industry sector Philippe Delpal, Baring Vostok investment director Ivan Zyuzin, partner Vagan Abgaryan, CEO of the First Collectors Bureau Maxim Vladimirov and former chairmen of the board of Vostochny bank Alexey Kordichev, was also extended for the same term.

Calvey’s defense asked court to mitigate conditions of his house arrest and permit walks as he had been diagnosed with an oncology disease.

In early December, the Moscow City Court denied release of over 7.5 million rubles ($117,000) belonging to Calvey from attachment but overturned the seizure of his flat.

In mid-February 2019, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ordered detention of Calvey and five other defendants including Delpal, the company’s partners Vagan Abgaryan, Baring Vostok Investment Director Ivan Zyuzin, Maxim Vladimirov and ex- chairman of Vostochny bank board Alexey Kordichev.

On April 11, Moscow’s Basmanny District Court released Calvey from detention and put him under house arrest. Delpal’s measure of restrained was changed in October.

According to investigation, Calvey knowing about a 2.5-billion-ruble debt of the First Collector Bureau, a firm under his control, has organized the sale of its shares to Vostochny bank that has led to embezzlement.

The Investigative Committee claims that he committed a crime that could not be classified as business crime because he used a chain of sham companies settling the deal. Moreover, investigators say they have a PricewaterhouseCoopers’ audit report on the done deal estimating the sold shares at 600,000 rubles, which indicates an instance of fraud.

Calvey denies allegations insisting that the deal was fair as both companies agreed its terms and stood for it, including a person reporting an alleged crime to law enforcement bodies. He noted that a report has been filed with police by a member of Vostochny bank board of directors Sherzod Yusupov. According to Calvey, the real reason of his prosecution is a wide corporate dispute related to the control of the bank by two groups of shareholders: Baring Vostok and stockholders coming from Uniastrum bank, which was reorganized and joined to Vostochny in early 2017.

Baring Vostok company founded by Calvey in 1994 focuses on private equity investments in the CIS and Russia. The company has invested in shares of Yandex, Vkusvill, Tinkoff Bank and other major projects.