Yesterday a Russian court ordered to transfer French citizen Philippe Delpal to house arrest after six months spent in pre-trial detention. The decision took place just days before Russian president Vladimir Putin’s visit to France, where he is expected to meet his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
In early April Baring Vostok’s founder, the US citizen Michael Calvey, was the first one to be moved from jail to house arrest. However, Delpal and other Russian citizens involved in the Baring Vostok case were kept in pre-trial detention.
Last month a court ruled to keep the French businessman in jail until October, as reported by Bloomberg – even after his family spent 25 million rubles ($377,000) to buy a Moscow apartment, following comments from Putin that Delpal didn’t own a home in which he could be placed under house arrest.
Calvey, Delpal and otherBaring Vostok executives were arrested in mid-February 2019 under charges of large-scale fraud investigation. Their arrest and their placement in pre-trial detention based on controversial motives have shocked the business community in Russia and beyond.
Baring Vostok Capital Partners is one of the most established Russian private equity firms, which invested in some of Russia’s best tech companies.