The legal team for US investor Michael Calvey, the founder of the Baring Vostok investment fund who was detained in Russia on embezzlement charges, filed a motion through a new e-platform for business complaints to challenge the procedural accuracy of the way his case was being handled, Russian business-ombudsman Boris Titov said on Monday.
"The lawyers point to the precise procedural violations. The official who initiated the case was unfit for this action. Charges pertained to the field of entrepreneurship, and as per Article 20 of the Russian Criminal-Procedural Code, the case must have been initiated at the request of the plaintiff. At the same time, the official report of the crime was filed not by an Investigative Committee official, but by Directorate K of the FSB Economic Security Service", Titov said.
According to Titov, the motion also claimed that Calvey's actions lacked certain criteria to classify as fraud, such as deception, infliction of damage, and illegal seizure.
The e-platform that the lawyers used was launched in November. It is designed for businessmen and entrepreneurs to submit complaints and motions about what they consider to be abuse of power and unlawful actions by law enforcement agencies.
Four other suspects within Baring Vostok fraud case were detained along with Calvey in February and are still in custody. According to the probe, they offered to pay back the debt to Vostochny Bank with a controlling stake of another company that Calvey owned of allegedly tantamount value. The prosecution has found the shares to be far less valuable, worth approximately 600,000 rubles ($9,327) at most.
