{{short description|American businessman|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Use American English|date=May 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=October 2025|cs1-dates=ly}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Calvey | image = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|10|3}}<ref name="Esquire">{{cite web |title="Самый честный инвестор в Россию": кто такой Майкл Калви и за что его арестовали |language=ru |trans-title=The most honest investor: Michael Calvey and the reasons behind his arrest |date=February 18, 2019 |work=Esquire |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://esquire.ru/articles/84902-samyy-chestnyy-investor-v-rossiyu-kto-takoy-maykl-kalvi-i-za-chto-ego-arestovali/ }}</ref> | birth_place = Wisconsin | occupation = Entrepreneur, investor | years_active = | relatives = Kevin Calvey (brother) | known_for = Co-founder and managing partner of Baring Vostok Capital Partners }} '''Michael Calvey''' (born October 3, 1967) is an American businessman known for his investments in Russia.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-finance minister Kudrin says detention of top U.S. investor is 'emergency' for Russian economy |work=Reuters |date=February 18, 2019 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-business-detention-calvey-idUSKCN1Q71O6}}</ref> Calvey was a co-founder of Baring Vostok, an independent private equity firm focused on investments in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States.<ref name="Reid">{{Cite web|last=Reid|first=David|date=February 25, 2019|title=Putin is asked to take 'personal control' of legal case against jailed US investor|website=CNBC|language=en|access-date=2021-10-20|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/25/putin-asked-to-take-control-of-case-against-jailed-us-investor-calvey.html}}</ref>
In 2019, following a corporate dispute with Russian shareholders in Vostochny Bank, Calvey was arrested by Russia’s FSB in a high-profile case<ref>{{Cite web |last=Aris |first=Ben |date=August 29, 2019 |title=The Trouble With Investing Into Russia |work=IntelliNews |via=''The Moscow Times'' |language=en |access-date=2025-07-18 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/08/29/the-trouble-with-investing-into-russia-a67068 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Aris |first=Ben |title=Halligan: Mike Calvey's "Odyssey Moscow" – the story of Russia's top fund manager who ended up in jail when his partners turned on him |work=IntelliNews |date=April 21, 2025 |access-date=2025-07-18|url=https://www.intellinews.com/halligan-mike-calvey-s-odyssey-moscow-the-story-of-russia-s-top-fund-manager-who-ended-up-in-jail-when-his-partners-turned-on-him-377302/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250620232222/https://www.intellinews.com/halligan-mike-calvey-s-odyssey-moscow-the-story-of-russia-s-top-fund-manager-who-ended-up-in-jail-when-his-partners-turned-on-him-377302/ |archive-date=2025-06-20 |url-status=live }}</ref> that the New York Times described as being based on “bogus charges”.<ref name="MacFarquhar" /> After a lengthy trial, a Russian judge in 2021 found Calvey guilty of misappropriation and issued him a suspended (probationary) sentence of 5.5 years.<ref name="Sergeev" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Simmons |first=Ann M. |title=Michael Calvey Given 5½-Year Suspended Sentence for Embezzlement in Russia |website=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=2025-07-18 |url=https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/michael-calvey-given-5-year-suspended-sentence-for-embezzlement-in-russia-11628286318 }}</ref> In 2024, Calvey's conviction was vacated, clearing his record.<ref name="Marrow" />
His case was widely publicized in Russia and the world.<ref name="Seddon 2021" /><ref name="Economist" /> Calvey authored a best-selling memoir, ''Odyssey Moscow: One American's Journey from Russia Optimist to Prisoner of the State'', recounting these events.<ref name="USA TODAY" />
In 2022, Calvey left Russia, disinvested after the invasion of Ukraine, and is currently the Chairman of Baring Ventures, a global private equity firm.
==Biography== Calvey was born in 1967 in Wisconsin and grew up in Oklahoma.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. investor Calvey tells court: Find me innocent and Russia will get billions in investment |date=July 19, 2021 |work=Reuters |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/us-investor-calvey-tells-court-find-me-innocent-russia-will-get-billions-2021-07-19/ }}</ref> His elder brother Kevin Calvey is an Oklahoma attorney and Republican politician.<ref>{{cite web |title=Биография основателя инвестфонда Baring Vostok Майкла Калви |language=ru |trans-title=Michael Calvey's Bio |date=February 15, 2019 |work=TASS |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://tass.ru/info/6123012 }}</ref>
Calvey has Bachelor of Business degree from the University of Oklahoma, and Master of Finance degree from the London School of Economics.<ref name="Esquire" /> According to Calvey, he planned to go into politics and become Governor of Oklahoma someday, but instead ended up on Wall Street after completing his studies.<ref name="Seddon 2024">{{cite web |last=Seddon |first=Max |title=From championing Russia to a Moscow jail: Michael Calvey recounts his surreal descent |work=Financial Times |date=November 17, 2024 |access-date=2024-11-17 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/89a9bbb6-0926-4ddb-a081-6979ce65edda |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241117055409/https://www.ft.com/content/89a9bbb6-0926-4ddb-a081-6979ce65edda |archive-date=2024-11-17}}</ref>
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). In a 2019 interview, Calvey said that his interest in Eastern Europe was influenced by the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Calvey noted that the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt took place just a week before he was supposed to start working in Russia. The coup occurred while he was on holiday, climbing the Matterhorn in the Alps and when he returned three days later, pictures of the coup inspired his move. Calvey moved to Moscow in 1994 to set up Baring Vostok, which later discovered early-stage start-ups, including future tech companies like search and mobility pioneer Yandex and digital bank Tinkoff Bank.<ref name="Seddon 2024" /><ref>{{cite web |title= Майкл Калви |language=ru |trans-title=Michael Calvey |work=Finparty |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://finparty.ru/personal/maykl-kalvi/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213054405/https://finparty.ru/personal/maykl-kalvi/ |archive-date=2017-02-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kamitdinov |first=Nikita |title= Из Оклахомы в "Матросскую тишину". Глава Baring Vostok Майкл Калви — о своей судьбе, России и бизнесе |language=ru |trans-title=From Oklakhoma to Matrosskaya Tishina. Baring Vostok managing partner Michael Calvey about Russia, business, and his own fortunes |date=February 21, 2019 |work=Inc. |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://incrussia.ru/understand/iz-oklahomy-v-sizo-lefortovo-glava-baring-vostok-majkl-kalvi-o-svoej-sudbe-rossii-i-biznese/}}</ref> Calvey is fluent in Russian.<ref name="Knight" />
=== Baring Vostok Capital Partners === 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.<ref name="Reid"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Seddon|first=Max|date=February 22, 2019|title=Committed Russia investor Michael Calvey tripped up by politics|work=Financial Times|access-date=2021-10-20|url=https://www.ft.com/content/aabd47a2-369b-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5}}</ref> As of 2019, Baring Vostok launched 6 funds totaling $3.7 billion.<ref name="The Bell" /> By 2021, the firm has reportedly invested almost $3 billion in 80 companies, including some of Russia’s most valuable technology companies such as Tinkoff Bank, Ozon,<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 5, 2021|title=Russian Court Finds U.S. Investor Calvey Guilty of Embezzlement|website=The Moscow Times|access-date=2021-10-20|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/08/05/russian-court-finds-us-investor-calvey-guilty-of-embezzlement-a74709}}</ref> FGI Wireless (Beeline), CTC Media, Avito.ru, 1C Company, Ivi.ru, and CarPrice.<ref>{{cite web |last=Belousov |first=Semyon |title=Baring Vostok. История успеха? И кратко о солидарности |language=ru |trans-title=Baring Vostok. Success story and the story of no solidarity |date=February 18, 2019 |work=VC.ru |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://vc.ru/flood/58765-baring-vostok-istoriya-uspeha-i-kratko-o-solidarnosti}}</ref> In Russia, Baring Vostok was best known for its investment in Yandex: the fund returned over $1 billion from the initial purchase of 35% share in 2000 for $5.28 million.<ref name="The Bell">{{cite web |title="Я не знаю такого бизнесмена": чиновники о задержании основателя Baring Vostok |language=ru |trans-title="I know no businessman by this name": Russian officials on the arrest of Baring Vostok founder |date=February 15, 2019 |work=The Bell |access-date=2022-02-12 |url=https://thebell.io/ya-ne-znayu-takogo-biznesmena-chinovniki-o-zaderzhanii-osnovatelya-baring-vostok}}</ref>
The New York Times described Calvey as a longstanding proponent of investment opportunities in Russia.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kramer|first=Andrew E.|date=August 6, 2021|title=Russia Doesn't Send U.S. Investor to Jail but Still Sends a Warning|work=The New York Times|access-date=2021-10-19|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/06/world/europe/russia-american-investor-calvey-sentence.html | author-link = Andrew Kramer }}</ref><ref name="Economist">{{Cite news|date=February 16, 2019|title=The arrest of Michael Calvey, an American investor, shocks Russia's business community|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=2021-10-19|url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2019/02/16/the-arrest-of-michael-calvey-an-american-investor-shocks-russias-business-community}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news|first1=Thomas|last1=Grove|first2=Alan |last2=Cullison |date=July 31, 2019|title='Last Man Standing': An American Investor in Russia Takes a Fall|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2021-10-19|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/last-man-standing-an-american-investor-in-russia-takes-a-fall-11564603365}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web |last=Bershidsky |first=Leonid |author-link=Leonid Bershidsky |title=Why Russia Can Afford to Jail U.S. Investors |work=Bloomberg |date=February 18, 2019 |access-date=2019-03-04 |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2019-02-18/arrest-of-baring-vostok-s-michael-calvey-is-a-message-from-russia }}</ref>
=== Baring Vostok embezzlement case === Following a merger of Vostochny Bank (owned by Baring Vostok funds) with Uniastrum Bank in 2017, the merged entity (still named Vostochny Bank) was audited by the Russian Central Bank. Vostochny was ordered to make provisions of extra 19.6 billion Roubles by the Russian Central Bank following the audit, which found that 85% of the provisions were caused by actions “resembling asset stripping” by the owners of Uniastrum Bank in the three months prior to the merger with Vostochny.<ref name="Seddon 2019">{{Cite news |last=Seddon |first=Max |date=February 20, 2019 |title=Russian central bank intervenes in Baring Vostok dispute |work=Financial Times |access-date=2024-09-19 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/cbeb580c-3460-11e9-bd3a-8b2a211d90d5?accessToken=zwAGH3fBkrMQkdPL61gMNGAR6dO9OosqIR2Q1Q.MEUCIQDo0wDlkecbFaSwE4zHI6MniIOBMYDG7_wlGMuQtZ8_rgIgHPYSFRmG9aLUK4nnPAnhJ4oDYn3cpGrqFLA8HcHccbs&sharetype=gift&token=20c877d1-c4f8-42af-8316-147cbf09b27d&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1725190398222577&usg=AOvVaw3atZDZkyCKGPRm92HDig_C }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2019 |title=ЦБ заинтересовался сделками в «Восточном» за полгода до ареста Калви |website=РБК |access-date=2024-09-19 |url=https://www.rbc.ru/finances/20/02/2019/5c6c86d29a79479d8470cd3f }}</ref>
Calvey was arrested on February 14, 2019, with three other Baring Vostok executives, on suspicion of allegedly embezzling 2.5 billion rubles (US$38 million) from the Russian Vostochny Bank.<ref name="Knight" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Vasilyeva |first=Maria |title=Russia charges US investor with fraud in high-profile case|work=BBC News|date=February 21, 2019|access-date=2019-09-02 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47323131 }}</ref> On February 21, Russian state prosecutors formally charged him with fraud.<ref>{{cite news|title=Russia charges top U.S. investor Michael Calvey with fraud|work=Reuters|date=February 21, 2019|access-date=2019-09-02|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-business-detention-usa/russia-charges-top-u-s-investor-michael-calvey-with-fraud-idUSKCN1QA1K9 }}</ref> The criminal case was initiated on the basis of a statement from Sherzod Yusupov, a minority shareholder of Vostochny Bank.<ref>{{cite web |title=What's Behind the Arrest of the U.S. Founder of a Major Private Equity Group in Russia? |date=February 15, 2019 |publisher=The Moscow Times |access-date=2022-04-15 |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2019/02/15/us-founder-major-privaty-equity-group-russia-detained-embezzlement-charges-explained-a64512 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title="A mere embezzlement". Vostochny bank's shareholder Sherzod Yusupov about corporate conflict with Baring Vostok |date=February 28, 2019 |work=TASS |access-date=2022-04-15 |url=https://tass.ru/interviews/6158602 }}</ref> As of February 2019, Calvey's Baring Vostok had a majority stake of 52.5% in Vostochny Bank.<ref name="Knight">{{cite web |first=Amy |last=Knight |title=The Price of Doing Business in Russia: Prison |work=New York Review of Books |date=March 4, 2019 |access-date=2019-03-04 |url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/03/04/the-price-of-doing-business-in-russia-prison/ | author-link = Amy Knight }}</ref> Avetisyan has been described as a friend of the son of Nikolai Patrushev, former Director of the FSB and secretary of Putin's Security Council.<ref name="Knight" /> Calvey was suing Avetisyan in a separate court case in London, and winning, and Calvey maintains the charges against him were trumped up by Avetisyan who used his connections to have Calvey arrested and thus unable to effectively defend himself in the London case.<ref name="Knight" /> On February 22, 2019, Radio Echo of Moscow interviewed BBC Russian Service correspondent Olga Shamina, who claimed that the case against Calvey is based on two documents described in a BBC Russian Service publication<ref>{{Cite news |title = Арест Майкла Калви. Что есть в документах, которые легли в основу дела |trans-title=The arrest of Michael Kalvi. What is in the documents that formed the basis of the case |language=ru |newspaper = BBC News Russian Service |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-47317121 }}</ref> on its website. 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.<ref>{{cite interview |last=Shamina |first=Olga |title=РИКОШЕТ: Что есть в документах, которые легли в основу дела Майкла Калви. Материал русской службы BBC |trans-title=RIKOSHET: What is in the documents that formed the basis of the case of Michael Calvey. The material of the Russian service of the BBC |work=Echo of Moscow |interviewer=Irina Vorobyeva |type=transcript |date=February 22, 2019 |language=Russian |access-date=2019-09-02 |url=https://echo.msk.ru/programs/rikoshet/2375663-echo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223132838/https://echo.msk.ru/programs/rikoshet/2375663-echo/ |archive-date=2019-02-23 }}</ref>
Prior to the charges being launched in Russia, the shareholders of Vostochny Bank had been engaged in an arbitration dispute over terms of the merger agreement between the Vostochny and Uniastrum shareholders. In March 2019, the London Court of International Arbitration ruled that attempts made by Mr. Avetisyan to obtain a further 10% of the bank via the call option violated arbitration agreements.<ref name="Seddon 2019" />
Calvey claimed the allegations were unfounded and linked the criminal investigation against him to a corporate dispute he had with other shareholders of Vostochny Bank. Later the shareholders entered into a settlement agreement<ref>{{cite web |last=Kazarnovsky |first=Pavel |title=Baring Vostok and Avetisyan's company settled the conflict over Vostochny bank |date=October 28, 2020 |publisher=RBC |access-date=2022-04-15 |url=https://www.rbc.ru/finances/28/10/2020/5f996b9a9a7947da1e1a2e6b }}</ref> and publicly stated that their shareholder dispute was not related to the criminal investigation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Vostochny bank's shareholders just settled the corporate dispute |date=October 28, 2020 |work=BFM |access-date=2022-04-15 |url=https://www.bfm.ru/news/456760 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Kazarnovsky |first=Pavel |title=Peaceful settlement versus criminal prosecution |date=October 29, 2020 |publisher=RBC |access-date=2022-04-01 |url=https://www.rbc.ru/newspaper/2020/10/29/5f9936819a7947b845aaf2a2 }}</ref> After signing the settlement agreement, Baring Vostok returned 2.5 billion rubles to Vostochny Bank.<ref>{{cite web |title=Debt collection agency related to Calvey's case returned 2.5 bil rubles to Vostochny bank |date=November 9, 2020 |publisher=TASS |access-date=2022-04-15 |url=https://tass.ru/ekonomika/9950781 }}</ref>
Calvey was held in Matrosskaya Tishina ("Seaman's Silence Prison"), the facility notorious for poor conditions and treatment — it is the same prison where lawyer Sergei Magnitsky was detained and died under mysterious circumstances.<ref name="Knight"/> Likewise, Calvey's case was assigned to Arthur Karpov, the same judge who prosecuted Magnitsky. 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.<ref>{{Cite web|title=U.S. Ambassador Slams 'Egregious' Charges Against Journalists In Russia |website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |date=April 23, 2020 |access-date=2021-11-05|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/u-s-ambassador-slams-egregious-charges-against-journalists-in-russia/30570672.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 17, 2021|title=Statement by U.S. Ambassador Sullivan on detained U.S. citizen Michael Calvey|website=U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Russia|access-date=2021-11-05|url=https://ru.usembassy.gov/statement-by-u-s-ambassador-sullivan-on-detained-u-s-citizen-michael-calvey/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250328223413/https://ru.usembassy.gov/statement-by-u-s-ambassador-sullivan-on-detained-u-s-citizen-michael-calvey/ |archive-date=2025-03-28 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Toosi|first=Nahal|title=Biden to Putin: Help me help you |website=POLITICO |date=June 16, 2021 |access-date=2021-11-05 |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/16/biden-putin-meeting-494925 | author-link = Nahal Toosi}}</ref>
In April 2019, Calvey was released to a restricted form of house arrest, although a number of colleagues remained in prison.<ref>{{cite web |last=Seddon |first=Max |title=Kremlin says Michael Calvey may be released from house arrest |work=Financial Times |date=June 3, 2019 |access-date=2019-06-08 |url=https://www.ft.com/content/24afc82c-85e9-11e9-a028-86cea8523dc2 }}</ref> House arrest was lifted in December 2020 and replaced with other restrictions.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Supreme Court releases Michael Calvey and all defendants in his case from house arrest|date=November 12, 2020 |work=TASS |url=https://tass.com/economy/1223115 }}</ref>
In August 2021, Calvey was found guilty of misappropriating 2.5 billion rubles by the Meshchansky district court of Moscow. He was sentenced to 5.5 years of probation and did not go to jail. During the term of Calvey's suspended sentence, he was allowed to travel but is required to register monthly with the Federal Penal Enforcement Service of Russia, and was not allowed to change his permanent place of residence without informing Russian authorities.<ref name="Sergeev">{{Cite news|last1=Sergeev|first1=Lev|last2=Marrow|first2=Alexander|date=August 7, 2021|title=Russia hands U.S. investor Calvey 5.5-year suspended sentence|work=Reuters|access-date=2021-11-05|url=https://www.reuters.com/business/russia-hands-us-investor-calvey-55-year-suspended-sentence-2021-08-06/}}</ref> Calvey's colleagues were sentenced to between 42 and 60 months of probation.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Khurshudyan |first=Isabelle |title=Michael Calvey of Baring Vostok Capital found guilty|date=August 6, 2021 |work=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/russia-calvey-american-investor-trial/2021/08/06/517e6280-f1fa-11eb-81b2-9b7061a582d8_story.html }}</ref> A couple of weeks after, Michael Calvey and his colleagues appealed the decision.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Investor Calvey Appeals Russian Embezzlement Conviction |date=August 19, 2021 |work=The Moscow Times |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/08/19/investor-calvey-appeals-russian-embezzlement-conviction-a74844}}</ref>
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."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Simmons |first=Ann M.|date=August 6, 2021|title=Michael Calvey Given 5½-Year Suspended Sentence for Embezzlement in Russia|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=2021-10-19|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/michael-calvey-given-5-year-suspended-sentence-for-embezzlement-in-russia-11628286318}}</ref><ref name="Seddon 2021">{{Cite news|last1=Seddon|first1=Max|last2=Foy|first2=Henry|date=August 2, 2021|title=Michael Calvey trial set to conclude as Russian court delivers verdict|work=Financial Times|access-date=2021-10-19|url=https://www.ft.com/content/032789e0-675e-4693-a0c1-8e19e94a3dcb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=August 8, 2021 |title=Moscow court issues 5.5-year suspended sentence for fund manager Calvey |website=IntelliNews |access-date=2021-10-19 |url=https://intellinews.com/moscow-court-issues-5-5-year-suspended-sentence-for-fund-manager-calvey-217603/}}</ref>
In January 2022 the appellate court lifted the Moscow Meshchansky district court home restriction. From that date, Calvey was allowed to leave Russia and travel abroad. On April 5, 2024, Calvey’s conviction was vacated and nullified, removing Calvey's status of being a convicted person.<ref name="Marrow">{{cite web |last=Marrow |first=Alexander |title=U.S. investor Calvey's Russian conviction wiped as probation expires |date= May 20, 2024 |work= Reuters |access-date=2024-07-14 |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/us-investor-calveys-russian-conviction-wiped-probation-expires-2024-05-20/ | quote= According to Russian law, a person is considered "convicted" until their criminal record is vacated, which occurs once the probation period is over, the Guild of Russian Lawyers said on April 25 in a note on Calvey's case.}}</ref> In 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine, Calvey hastily disinvested from Russia costing his company billions.<ref name="MacFarquhar">{{cite web |last=MacFarquhar |first=Neil |title=An American Helped Build Russia's Economy. He Was Jailed on Bogus Charges. |work=The New York Times |date=March 23, 2025 |access-date=2025-03-23 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/world/europe/michael-calvey-russia-jailed.html | author-link = Neil MacFarquhar }}</ref>
Calvey’s case is discussed in ''Midnight in Moscow: A Memoir from the Front Lines of Russia’s War Against the West'', by former U.S. Ambassador to Russia John J Sullivan, as an example of an unlawful case against a prominent international investor. 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".<ref>{{cite web |last= |first= |title=Midnight in Moscow: Top 5 Lessons For Business |work=CityBiz |date=October 8, 2024 |access-date=2024-10-08 |url=https://www.citybiz.co/article/609973/midnight-in-moscow-top-5-lessons-for-business/}}</ref>
===Post-Russia=== Calvey is currently the Chairman of Baring Ventures, a global private equity firm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Calvey and Baring Ventures |website=Michael Calvey |access-date=2024-09-04 |url=https://www.mikecalvey.com/baring-ventures }}</ref> Among other things Calvey is fostering internet startups, elsewhere in the world, employing young tech talent that fled Russia.<ref name="MacFarquhar" />
Michael Calvey's memoir ''Odyssey Moscow: One American's Journey from Russia Optimist to Prisoner of the State'' was published in March 2025 by The History Press.<ref>{{cite book |last=Calvey |first=Michael |title=Odyssey Moscow: One American's Journey from Russia Optimist to Prisoner of the State |publisher=The History Press |year=2025 |isbn=978-1803997308}}</ref> The memoir recounts Michael Calvey’s three decades as an investor in Russia, reflecting on the country's changing political and economic climate and the circumstances leading up to his arrest in 2019, and subsequent nullification of his conviction in 2024.<ref name="MacFarquhar" /><ref name="Seddon 2024" /> In May 2025, Odyssey Moscow ranked #15 on the USA Today Bestseller list.<ref name="USA TODAY">{{Cite web |title=Best-selling Booklist |website=USA TODAY |access-date=2025-07-03 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/booklist/date/2025-05-07 }}</ref> A review in Kirkus Reviews discussed Calvey’s “intimate, gripping writing style,” saying it paints “an accessible, troubling portrait of a nation increasingly reliant on authoritarian, state-sanctioned violence and intimidation”.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Odyssey Moscow |work=Kirkus Reviews |date=May 5, 2025 |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/michael-calvey/odyssey-moscow/}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvey, Michael}} Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics Category:American businesspeople in finance