Orient Express Bank sees no client outflow over Baring Vostok case

MOSCOW, Feb 19 (PRIME) -- Russia’s Orient Express Bank has not registered a significant outflow of clients in the wake of arrest of several top managers of investment company Baring Vostok, its shareholder, a bank spokesperson told PRIME on Tuesday.

“We saw no outflow of clients. The bank is working as usual, it is improving its business. The bank has been fulfilling its liabilities non-stop, so there is no reason to be concerned about Orient Express Bank,” the spokesperson said.

On February 16, the Basmanny District Court of Moscow arrested Michael Calvey, the founder of investment company Baring Vostok, over alleged 2.5 billion ruble embezzlement from the bank.

Investigators think that Calvey, his partner Philippe Delpal, and several other unidentified managers convinced shareholders of Orient Express Bank to vote for a compensation agreement to receive a 59.9% in International Financial Technology Group instead of money. The shares were valued at 3 billion rubles under the deal, while their real value amounted to 600,000 rubles.

Besides Calvey and Delpal, law enforcers detained Ivan Zyuzin, director for investment at Bering Vostok, Vagan Abgaryan, partner of Baring Vostok focusing on media, real estate, and construction materials projects, Maxim Vladimirov, CEO of the First Collection Bureau, and Alexei Kordichev, chairman of the board of directors of Vyatka-Bank, now known as Norvik Bank, and former CEO of Orient Express Bank.

Calvey controls 52.48% voting shares in Orient Express Bank through the funds of Baring Vostok.

(66.2470 rubles – U.S. $1)

End