[2] His controversial Russian criminal conviction on embezzlement and the subsequent nullification of the case was widely publicized in Russia and the world.

[6] In February 2019, Calvey and five colleagues were arrested on suspicion of involvement in the theft of 2.5 billion rubles from Vostochny Bank on the order of "hardliner" judge Artur Karpov.

[10] Calvey worked on mergers and acquisitions at Salomon Brothers, before taking a position in energy project finance, focusing on countries of the former Soviet Union at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD).

[13] Calvey co-founded Baring Vostok in 1994, with the firm becoming known for making early-stage investments in Russian companies largely from the tech and consumer-facing sectors.

[18][19] Anatoly Chubais, a former Russian Deputy Prime Minister and a key figure in Russia’s post-Soviet market reforms, credited Calvey with personally attracting billions of dollars of investment into the country.

[20] According to Bloomberg, "Calvey became a legend in the Russian market, in part because of his reputed aversion to any kind of foul play and focus on industries and companies unlikely to attract the attention of Russia’s authorities.

[22][23] Calvey was arrested on 14 February 2019, with three other Baring Vostok executives, on suspicion of allegedly embezzling 2.5 billion rubles (US$38 million) from the Russian Vostochny Bank.

One is said to be a statement by Vostochny Bank minority shareholder Sherzod Yusupov, the other an assessment by lawyers in Luxembourg commissioned by Artem Avetisyan.

U.S. government officials under both the Trump and Biden administrations commented publicly that the case was a commercial dispute that shouldn’t be resolved in criminal courts, and that the arrest of Calvey was a major barrier to improving U.S.-Russian business relations.

[41] Observers have called the sentence a victory under the circumstances, with sources including Russia’s business ombudsman Boris Titov saying the decision was an attempt by Russian law enforcement to “save face.

Sullivan writes: “The Russian Government had arrested the most successful and prominent U.S. business leader and investor in Russia, Michael Calvey, on a phoney charge".