Spox: Putin cannot interfere in investigative activities

MOSCOW, Feb 26 (PRIME) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot interfere in investigative activities, spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday commenting on a criminal case initiated against investment company Baring Vostok founder Michael Calvey and several top managers.

“The president, as always happens, he can in no way interfere in investigative actions, this is the first thing. And the second one – I can only repeat once again that the head of state himself repeatedly said this: it is impossible to talk about some kind of fault until the court’s decision,” Peskov said.

Baring Vostok investment fund earlier applied to Putin with a request to take the criminal case against Calvey and top managers under his personal control. The president was informed about this letter, Peskov said.

The Basmanny District Court of Moscow earlier arrested Calvey and five other defendants for two months in a 2.5 billion ruble embezzlement case. The Moscow City Court will check the legitimacy of Calvey’s arrest on February 28.

Investigators believe 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% stake 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, the court arrested Ivan Zyuzin, director for investment at Baring Vostok, Vagan Abgaryan, partner of Baring Vostok focusing on media, real estate, and construction materials projects, Maxim Vladimirov, CEO of 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.

(65.2582 rubles – U.S. $1)

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