Michael Calvey

Calvey co-founded Baring Vostok in 1994, with the firm becoming known for making early-stage investments in Russian companies largely from the tech and consumer-facing sectors.[5][11] As of 2019, Baring Vostok launched 6 funds totaling $3.7 billion.[12] By 2021, the firm has reportedly invested almost $3 billion in 80 companies, including some of Russia’s most valuable technology companies such as Tinkoff Bank, Ozon,[13] FGI Wireless (Beeline), CTC Media, Avito.ru, 1C Company, Ivi.ru, and CarPrice.[14] In Russia, Baring Vostok was best knows for its investment in Yandex: the fund returned over $1 billion from the initial purchase of 35% share in 2020 for $5.28 million.[12]

The New York Times described Calvey as a longstanding proponent of investment opportunities in Russia.[15][16] Anatoly Chubais, a former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and a key figure in Russia’s post-Soviet market reforms, credited Calvey with personally attracting billions of dollars of investment into the country.[17] According to Bloomberg, "Calvey became a legend in the Russian market, in part because of his reputed aversion to any kind of foul play and focus on industries and companies unlikely to attract the attention of Russia’s authorities."[18]

Calvey was arrested on 14 February 2019, with three other Baring Vostok executives, on suspicion of allegedly embezzling 2.5 billion rubles (US$38 million) from the Russian Vostochny Bank.[10][19] On 21 February, Russian state prosecutors formally charged him with fraud.[20] The criminal case was initiated on the basis of a statement from Sherzod Yusupov, a minority shareholder of Vostochny Bank.[21][22] As of February 2019, Calvey's Baring Vostok had a majority stake of 52.5% in Vostochny Bank.[10] Avetisyan has been described as a friend of the son of Nikolai Patrushev, former Director of the FSB and secretary of Putin's Security Council.[10] Calvey was suing Avetisyan in a separate court case in London, and winning, and Calvey maintains the charges against him were trumped up by Avetisyan who used his connections to have Calvey arrested and thus unable to effectively defend himself in the London case.[10] On 22 February 2019, Radio Echo of Moscow interviewed BBC Russian Service correspondent Olga Shamina, who claimed that the case against Calvey is based on two documents described in a BBC Russian Service publication[23] on its website. One is said to be a statement by Vostochny Bank minority shareholder Sherzod Yusupov, the other an assessment by lawyers in Luxembourg commissioned by Artem Avetisyan.[24]

Calvey claimed the allegations were unfounded and linked the criminal investigation against him to a corporate dispute he had with other shareholders of Vostochny Bank. Later the shareholders entered into a settlement agreement[25] and publicly stated that their shareholder dispute was not related to the criminal investigation.[26][27] After signing the settlement agreement, Baring Vostok returned 2.5 billion rubles to Vostochny Bank.[28]

Calvey was held in Seaman's Silence Prison, the facility notorious for poor conditions and treatment — it is the same prison where lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was detained and died under mysterious circumstances.[10] Likewise, Calvey's case was assigned to Arthur Karpov, the same judge who prosecuted Magnitsky. U.S. government officials under both the Trump and Biden administrations commented publicly that the case was a commercial dispute that shouldn’t be resolved in criminal courts, and that the arrest of Calvey was a major barrier to improving U.S.-Russian business relations.[29][30][31]

In April 2019, Calvey was released to a restricted form of house arrest, although a number of colleagues remained in prison. It was reported that Putin had personally taken the case "under his control", though Putin acknowledged "the law is the law" implying he was not in control.[32] House arrest was lifted in December 2020 and replaced with other restrictions.[33]

In August 2021, Calvey was found guilty of misappropriating 2.5 billion rubles by the Meshchansky district court of Moscow. He was sentenced to 5.5 years of probation and did not go to jail. During the term of Calvey’s suspended sentence, he is allowed to travel but is required to register monthly with the Federal Penal Enforcement Service of Russia, and will not be allowed to change his permanent place of residence without informing Russian authorities.[34] Calvey's colleagues were sentenced to between 42 and 60 months of probation.[35] A couple of weeks after, Michael Calvey and his colleagues appealed the decision.[36]

Observers have called the sentence a victory under the circumstances, with sources including Russia’s business ombudsman Boris Titov saying the decision was an attempt by Russian law enforcement to “save face."[37][38][39]

In January 2022 the appellate court lifted the Moscow Meshchansky district court home restriction. Calvey is now allowed to leave home and travel abroad.[40]