Russia court freezes assets of US investor Calvey

• The assets of three of Calvey's colleagues who are being investigated in the same case were also seized.
• Multi-billion-dollar equity firm has invested in some of Russia's biggest companies including Yandex.

MOSCOW: A Russian court has frozen the assets of prominent US investor Michael Calvey, who was detained in a controversial fraud case this year and remains under house arrest, the Interfax agency reported Friday.

Calvey's lawyer Dmitry Kletochkin told the agency that "all of his property in Russia" had been "seized", adding that he planned to appeal.

The assets of three of Calvey's colleagues who are being investigated in the same case were also seized, the agency reported.

The founder of the Baring Vostok investment fund, established in 1994, was arrested in February with five other people, and accused of defrauding Vostochny Bank of 2.5 billion rubles ($38.7 million).

They deny the charges, which they say were fabricated by a competitor.

Calvey was released from detention in April and placed under house arrest.

He is seen as a Kremlin-friendly investor who has steered clear of politics and his arrest has shocked Western business circles.

His multi-billion-dollar equity firm has invested in some of Russia's biggest companies including Yandex, the Russian search giant, and Ozon, a top online retailer.

Alexei Kudrin, a former finance minister who now heads the Russian Audit Chamber, has criticised the charges, saying they had caused capital flight from Russia to double.