Baring Vostok case

What they say in Russia and in the West

On February 15, the founder of the investment company Baring Vostok, Michael Calvey, was detained in Moscow. He is suspected of fraud for 2.5 billion rubles. Five other people are also involved in the case. The New Times collected the opinions and comments of experts, as well as Russian and foreign media covering this event.

“This is a very professional team, if there were any doubts that they openly and honestly conduct their operations, then they would not have such a number of partners that they had in Russia and not only in Russia, of course. »

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One of the first to express his position was First Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov . According to him, it is necessary to understand the case, however, if the facts are confirmed, no one can give concessions to violators.

“If this is a scam, what can I say: do not break the law. You just need to figure it out, if the facts are confirmed, no one can give concessions to violators. No one should break the law, be it a foreigner or a Russian, there is no difference,” said on the sidelines of the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi. Siluanov

The head of Sberbank, German Gref , said that he had known Michael Calvey for a long time, knew him as a decent person, and in his opinion, he had done a lot to attract investment to Russia, as well as to develop the economy and high-tech companies such as Yandex, Ozon "," Tinkoff "and others". He also hopes that law enforcement agencies will deal with what is happening.

“Not knowing the essence of the charges, I really hope that law enforcement agencies will sort it out, and this will turn out to be a misunderstanding,” German Gref said, quoted by the Sberbank press service.

Russian business ombudsman Boris Titov believes that the Baring Vostok investment fund would not have been able to receive a large amount of investment if there were doubts about their activities. According to him, Baring Vostok has earned its reputation thanks to the creation and development of many projects in Russia.

“This is a very professional team, if there were any doubts that they openly and honestly conduct their operations, then they would not have such a number of partners that they had in Russia and not only in Russia, of course. . I am ready to vouch for Michael Calvey as an entrepreneur,” Titov told Interfax.

The Ombudsman for Entrepreneurs' Rights also said that he had not yet seen the materials of the case, however, in his opinion, it was a question of an incorrect assessment of the shares.

“This is an absolutely economic dispute, which should be resolved in the civil legal field. Criminal law has absolutely nothing to do with it. As far as I understand, Vostochny Bank has not filed any arbitration claims against Baring Vostok, and the situation so far looks doubtful,” he stressed.

, also expressed his full support for Michael Calvey The head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Kirill Dmitriev , he also expressed his readiness to vouch for the head of the investment fund.

“He did a lot to attract foreign investment to Russia and helped many Russian companies grow and mature,” said . Dmitriev

It is known that the President of Russia has already been informed about the criminal case and the detention of Michael Calvey, but the reaction of the head of state has not yet followed.

“I'm afraid it's a fatality. I don’t know if there was a crime, but in any case, this will put an end to normal foreign investors in Russia.”

"This is a fatality"

Representatives and participants of the investment and venture market believe that the consequences of the Michael Calvey case will have the most negative impact on the development of the investment market in Russia.

executive director of the National Association of Alternative Investment Market Participants, called what is happening with Baring Vostok an alarming signal for the entire industry Alexander Pankov, . He noted that many of Russia's geopolitical partners, including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, have invested in the fund.

“We have a specific market, where reputation is worth its weight in gold. What is imputed to them contradicts the whole logic of their investment process, which has not changed for 20 years, ” RBC quotes him as saying.

Eduard Gurinovich, the founder of the Carpice service, is even more pessimistic:

“I'm afraid it's a fatality. I don’t know if there was a crime, but in any case, this will put an end to normal foreign investors in Russia. This is very bad for the venture capital market. Baring can hang out, they are strong. But they can start selling assets, ” he said (quoted by Forbes).

A similar position is taken by the venture investor and founder of Universa.io Alexander Borodich .

“I believe that the arrest of the founder of Baring Vostok, Michael Calvey, who has been operating since 1994, will not be able to have a positive impact on the investment attractiveness of the country. Although, of course, you need to look at the charges brought by the investigators. Perhaps, there is no talk about the activities of the investment company itself, ”commented the expert.

The founder and CEO of The Untitled Ventures Konstantin Sinyushin believes that the Baring Vostok case is a collapse for the investment market in Russia.

“There is no longer any late-stage venture capital market in Russia, because it was the last major investor with world-class checks. All other foreigners without experience in Russia are reluctant to give money to our projects, and funds with our private money are more likely to invest in Russian projects that are already present on the world market. So this is already a big hit. But the law enforcement agencies dealt us an even greater blow, in connection with which we predict a lull in the local market and start-up emigration of projects, for example, to Latvia,” he stressed.

“If they were able to arrest Calvey, they would not be afraid to arrest anyone. This is a signal to my American friends who are still doing business in Russia: it’s time to go home.”

"Time to go home"

The reaction of Western experts was more emotional. According to the founder and CEO of the British investment fund Hermitage Capital Management William Browder , the detention of Michael Calvey was the last straw confirming that Russia is a corrupt country that cannot be invested in.

“Of all the people I knew in Moscow, Mike was the only one who played by their rules, kept a low profile and never criticized the government,” . Browder tweeted

“If we do not receive convincing evidence in the near future that Calvey has done something illegal, this will be another negative signal about the possibility of doing business in Russia,” said GAM Ltd investment manager Paul McNamara (London), quoted by Bloomberg.

He also suggested that the criminal case around the leadership of Baring Vostok is due to the fact that the investment fund crossed the path of politically influential business in Russia.

Former Russian Ambassador to the US Michael McFaul said he was "absolutely shocked" by Michael Calvey's detention. He also expressed the hope that someone will ask Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the case of the head of the investment fund during the Munich Security Conference, which takes place from February 15 to 17.

“If they were able to arrest Calvey, they would not be afraid to arrest anyone. This is a signal to my American friends who are still doing business in Russia: it's time to go home," concluded . McFaul