Moscow City Court Releases Baring Vostok Top Manager Delpal On House Arrest

As Russian investigator and prosecutor upheld on Thursday the complaint of the defense of Philippe Delpal, a French banker charged with defrauding a Russian lender of almost $40 million, against his detention, the Moscow city court released the banker on house arrest, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the courtroom

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2019) As Russian investigator and prosecutor upheld on Thursday the complaint of the defense of Philippe Delpal, a French banker charged with defrauding a Russian lender of almost $40 million, against his detention, the Moscow city court released the banker on house arrest, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the courtroom.

Delpal, a partner at the Baring Vostok private equity group, was arrested in February along with its founder, US national Michael Calvey. A Moscow court ruled on July 9 to keep Delpal in custody for three months.

"To cancel the decision of Moscow's Basmanny district court ... To set house arrest as the precautionary measure for Philippe Delpal," the judge said.

"Delpal's family have purchased a flat.

Moreover, he is charged with an economic crime. I believe that house arrest will not hinder the investigation," the prosecutor said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was asked at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in early June why Delpal had not been released from the detention facility, while Calvey had been placed under house arrest. Putin said that this was due to the fact that Calvey had a flat in Moscow, while Delpal did not. After that, the family of the French banker purchased a flat in the Russian capital.

Russian investigators suspect that Delpal and Calvey have persuaded Vostochny Bank stakeholders to accept a controlling stake in a small company, estimated at 3 billion rubles. The prosecutors' evaluation of its cost was 600,000 rubles.