Russian authorities have detained six people over alleged fraud involving the private equity group Baring Vostok, including the fund’s prominent American founder, Michael Calvey.
Calvey has been working out of Moscow for 25 years. He and five others were detained Thursday on suspicion of large-scale fraud. The potential charges reportedly come with jail terms of up to a decade.
According to Russian reports, the arrests relate to a dispute between the fund and Vostochny Bank, in which Baring Vostok holds a 52.5% controlling stake. Vostochny told Vedomosti that the matter had nothing to do with the bank’s current activities.
Reuters reported that a Moscow court will decide on Friday whether Calvey, currently a senior partner at Baring Vostok, should remain in custody.
The same goes for the other five, named by Vedomosti as: former Vostochny chair Alexey Kordichev; Baring Vostok partner Vagan Abgaryan; Baring Vostok partner Philippe Delpal; Baring Vostok director Ivan Zyuzin; and Maxim Vladimirov, the chief executive of debt collection outfit First Collection Bureau, in which Baring is an investor.
Calvey worked for Salomon Brothers and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development before founding Baring Vostok. He is one of the many directors at the Washington, D.C.-based Atlantic Council think tank.