Baring Vostok yet to fully exit Russian assets despite announced withdrawal
Baring Vostok, the international private equity group founded by U.S. investor Michael Calvey, has yet to fully divest from its Russian assets more than two years after publicly announcing its departure from the market, Frank Media reported, citing company disclosures.
Following the start of the military conflict in Ukraine, Baring Vostok decided to split its business, transferring its Russian assets to Vostok Investitsii, a separate structure led by former senior partner Elena Ivashentseva. By February 2024, Vostok Investitsii said it had secured the necessary regulatory approvals and was "beginning the technical completion of the transaction".
However, disclosures from June 2025 by microfinance company Revo Technologies, which operates under the Mokka brand, showed that 7.7% of its shares were still held by foreign Baring Vostok funds.
According to 2026 SPARK-Interfax corporate registry data, Cyprus-based Sabiero Holdings, part of the Baring Ventures group, also continues to hold full ownership of Viasat Tech, a Russian company that develops digital products for media holding Viasat. However, Sabiero has exited Synergy, the parent structure of the media group, transferring its 20% stake to Baring Vostok’s Russian successor, Vostok Investitsii (owned by MKOOO Kenigsberg Investments).
A business partner of Calvey and a federal official both confirmed to Frank Media that Baring Vostok still retains ownership of some Russian companies.
According to one source cited by the publication, Baring Vostok managed to transfer most major assets to Vostok Investitsii, but several transactions were never fully approved by Russian authorities. These remaining holdings are relatively modest in scale and therefore are not a priority either for the group or the regulators, the source said.
Vostok Investments disputed SPARK’s shareholder data regarding Viasat Tech. "VIasat Tech is owned by Vostok Investitsii. The company had been transferred to the holding following its split from Baring Vostok under a decision by Russia’s foreign investment subcommission", the company said.
Baring Ventures, which retained Baring Vostok’s international business after the restructuring, says on its website that the sale of Russian assets to Vostok Investitsii was formally completed in April 2024 after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. However, Frank Media noted that Vostok Investitsii's own website has yet to become operational, while parts of the portfolio remain legally suspended. In April 2025, Vostok Investments sold its key inherited asset — a 28 % stake in e-commerce group Ozon.
Calvey founded Baring Vostok in 1994. The company was one of the first major private equity investors in Russia. The fund once owned stakes in VimpelCom, Yandex and Avito.
Calvey was arrested in Moscow in 2019 on charges of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($27.7 million) from Vostochny Bank. The court found him guilty and gave him a 5.5-year suspended sentence. Calvey in turn denied wrongdoing, arguing that the prosecution stemmed from a corporate conflict with fellow shareholders. In January 2025, he was able to leave Russia after remaining legal restrictions were lifted by the court.
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29.04.26