Russian arrest of US director of Baring Vostok shocks foreign investors
Association of European Businesses and French-Russian chamber of commerce voice concern over the arrests
Moscow — The arrest in Russia of prominent US and French investors on suspicion of fraud has sent shock waves through foreign business circles and sparked fears of cutbacks in foreign investment sorely needed for economic growth. The founder and employees of the Baring Vostok private equity firm were arrested on Friday in a case brought with the help of the FSB security service. The arrest took place on the same day Russia hosted leading business people in the Black Sea resort of Sochi for a major economic forum which trumpeted the country’s openness to investment. Michael Calvey, a US citizen and the founder and director of Baring Vostok, has been placed in pre-trial detention in a Moscow jail for the next two months for alleged fraud, along with five others, including Philippe Delpal, a French citizen. They are accused of defrauding Vostochny Bank of at least 2.5-billion roubles ($37.7m). All of them deny any wrongdoing and blame the case on a shareholder dispute. In an opinion pi...
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