On Friday, Aug. 6, more than two and a half years after its beginning, a high-profile case emblematic of the rule of law in Russian business life came to a decisive development. American Michael Calvey, French Philippe Delpal and their Russian colleagues of the Baring Vostok managing team were found guilty by a Moscow court.
These top executives were convicted of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles (some $34 million at today’s exchange rate) from Vostochny Bank, with Calvey and Delpal receiving suspended sentences of five and a half and four and a half years, respectively.
Calvey, however, maintains that his team and himself are innocent. “The court unfortunately didn’t or couldn’t understand the substance of the case, with no victim, no damage, and no beneficiary,” he stated after the ruling was announced.
“There were literally hundreds of pieces of evidence that we submitted in court, proving that my colleagues and I acted entirely legally,” as well as a variety of witnesses, that were ignored by the court, Calvey added.
The US investor said he will “meet with his advocate team to decide on the next steps in the following weeks.”
One of the most established Russian private equity firms, Baring Vostok has invested in some of Russia’s best tech companies. The Calvey case has been one of the heaviest blows to Russia’s perceived business image, following the Khodorkovsky case in the early 2000s, the Magnitsky case in the early 2010s, and the exacerbation of international tensions after the events in Crimea in 2014.
Read about the trial from The Bell and AFP/The Moscow Times reports, and get in-depth insights from EWDN’s coverage of the case since Feb. 2019:
- Baring Vostok founder under arrest: The Russian tech investment community under shock (Feb. 15, 2019)
- Prominent business associations call for “honest and fair investigation” in Baring Vostok case (Feb. 20, 2019);
- Closed-door endorsement or “factual statements:” How President Putin has involved himself in the Baring Vostok case (Feb. 26, 2019);
- Baring Vostok case not about politics, but perhaps about geopolitics (March 2, 2019);
- Moscow court rejects appeals against pre-trial detention of Baring Vostok top executives (March 4, 2019);
- Calvey ends first month in detention, business leaders express concern (March 14, 2019);
- US business group warns Russia on impact of Calvey jailing (March 29, 2019);
- US investor Michael Calvey placed under house arrest after two months in pre-trial detention (April 11, 2019);
- Court orders Baring Vostok to sell bank stake, executives still detained (May 21, 2019);
- Baring Vostok executive Philippe Delpal moved from prison to house arrest (Aug. 16, 2019);
- Russia’s investment image severely hit by Calvey affair, but Baring Vostok “will continue to invest” (Sept. 9, 2019);
- Calvey case: Charges are falling apart (Sept. 18, 2019);
- Baring Vostok executives will be kept under house arrest until January in spite of weakened charges (Oct. 2019);
- Russian court extends house arrest of Michael Calvey and other Baring Vostok executives (Jan. 10, 2020);
- One year after Michael Calvey’s arrest, the Baring Vostok case could soon come to an end (Feb. 17, 2020);
- US investor Michael Calvey kept under house arrest despite cancer revelation (June 24, 2020);
- Baring Vostok civil case settled for $32 million — but Calvey still under house arrest in fragile health (Oct. 28, 2020);
- Michael Calvey freed from house arrest weeks after settlement of civil claims (Nov. 13, 2020).
