Michael Calvey announced his intention to continue investing in Russia

by time news

The founder of the investment fund Baring Vostok, US citizen Michael Calvey, who was previously convicted in Russia on probation for embezzling Vostochny Bank’s funds, announced his intention to continue investing in Russia, Interfax reports.

“I plan to invest further,” the businessman said at a conference of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Moscow.

Calvey also noted that about 95% of Baring Vostok’s investment portfolio is concentrated in Russia and Kazakhstan. Earlier, the fund reported that over 27 years of activity, it has invested over $ 3.7 billion in 87 projects from Russia, the CIS countries and other states of the region.

On August 5 this year, the Meshchansky District Court found Calvi guilty of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles. funds of the bank “Vostochny”. On August 6, he was sentenced to 5.5 years probation. He appealed against the verdict.

The case against the businessman was initiated in February 2019. Baring Vostok partners Philip Delpal and Vagan Abgaryan, director of the fund for investments Ivan Zyuzin, ex-managing director for investments of Vostochny bank Alexander Tsakunov, former director of the credit institution Alexander Kordichev and Director of the First Collection Bureau Maxim Vladimirov. At first they were accused of fraud (Article 159 of the Criminal Code), but then the case was re-qualified for embezzlement (Article 160).

According to the investigation, Calvey and his partners squandered 2.5 billion rubles. Vostochny, since the bank took a stake in the Luxembourg company IFTG to repay a loan of 2.5 billion rubles issued to the First Collection Bureau (PKB, also belonged to the fund). Vostochny’s minority shareholder Sherzod Yusupov, who voted in the board of directors for the deal, later considered himself and the bank deceived, and the replacement was unequal and filed a statement with the FSB.

The investigation first estimated the fair value of the block of shares at 600,000 rubles, and later ordered another examination, which showed that, taking into account the restrictions in the company’s charter, the securities were worth 254 million rubles, while the market value of IFTG’s assets exceeded 4 billion rubles. The defendants’ defense insisted that the restrictions were later removed from the IFTG charter, and the bank’s loan funds were eventually used to pay off its own off-balance sheet obligations.

In the fall of last year, the shareholders of Vostochny – Baring Vostok and Finvision of Artem Avetisyan – signed an agreement according to which the PKB repaid the damage in a criminal case for 2.5 billion with the help of the fund’s money. The prosecutor’s office believed that the guilt of all the defendants in the theft of funds on an especially large scale as part of an organized group was proven.

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