Russian Court Freezes Assets of U.S. Investor Calvey 

(Bloomberg) -- A Moscow court froze assets of U.S. investor Michael Calvey and several of his colleagues, increasing the pressure in a case that has raised concerns about the use of criminal charges to resolve commercial disputes in Russia.

The assets include apartments owned by the businessmen, according to a statement from Baring Vostok Capital Partners. They are accused of overvaluing a company it contributed to the capital of Vostochny Bank, a Russian lender then controlled by the private equity fund.

Calvey alone had more than 55 million rubles ($850,000) in assets frozen, according to the Financial Times, which first reported the order. The ruling -- which also covers cars and local bank accounts -- was made in late August but the defendants’ families only found out about it this week, the newspaper said.

Calvey, one of the most successful and longest-standing foreign private equity investors in Russia, was arrested and jailed along with several other Baring partners in February. Calvey and his fund colleagues dismiss the allegations, saying they are a tactic in a business dispute with their Russian partners over ownership of Vostochny Bank. Those investors say their conflict is separate from the criminal case.

After an outcry among top Russian business executives and officials, Calvey was released under house arrest in April. His colleague, French citizen Philippe Delpal, was let out under similar terms in August, days before President Vladimir Putin went to France for a meeting with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, who had repeatedly asked for Delpal’s release. Three others remain in detention.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Gregory L. White

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