Veteran US investment manager detained in Moscow
MOSCOW (AP) — A veteran U.S. investment fund manager was detained in Moscow on Friday and faces fraud charges in a case that’s likely to rattle the Russian business community.
Michael Calvey, founder and senior partner at Baring Vostok equity firm, was detained alongside two other fund managers in the morning.
The Basmanny court said Calvey, who has been working in Russia since 1994, and five other people, including two Baring Vostok managers, face fraud charges. The Interfax news agency cited an investigator telling the court that Calvey is suspected of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($37 million) from Vostochny Bank, where Baring Vostok has a controlling stake.
The court on Friday afternoon ordered that he be held in detention for another three days.
Calvey has long worked in Russia and invested heavily in the country’s technology sector, including in the web search company Yandex.
The charges follow a protracted dispute between Vostochny shareholders, and come as Russia is holding a major investment conference in Sochi attended by President Vladimir Putin. Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin didn’t know about Calvey’s arrest.
“Baring Vostok believes that the detention of its employees and the charges that have been brought are a result of a conflict with shareholders of Vostochniy Bank,” the fund said, using an alternative English spelling of the bank’s name. “We have full confidence in the legality of our employees’ actions and will vigorously defend their rights. Baring Vostok’s activities in the Russian Federation are fully compliant with all applicable laws.”
Baring Vostok added that the fund is continuing to work despite the arrests.
Baring Vostok, which says it has more than $3.7 billion in committed capital for its investments, began investing in Russia during the chaotic 1990s transition to capitalism after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Its best-known investment was the 2000 acquisition of a 35.7 percent stake in the then-startup Yandex, which grew to become a giant in Russian-language internet searches, advertising and commerce. By the time Baring Vostok sold its last Yandex shares in 2016, it had earned vast profits.
Baring Vostok’s investments have tended to focus on tech companies, telecoms and retail, rather than getting involved with the state-owned companies of the oil and gas sector.