Moscow (AFP)

After six months in prison, the French banker Philippe Delpal was under house arrest Thursday by the Russian justice while being pursued in a fraud case he denounces a few days before a meeting between Vladimir Putin and Emmanuel Macron.

The arrest in Moscow in February of the American co-founder of the respected investment fund Baring Vostok, Michael Calvey, and his French financial director Philippe Delpal, had shaken the Western business community in Russia. The affair had quickly returned to the heights of the Russian state.

They are accused of causing fraud of at least 2.5 billion rubles (about 33 million euros), which they believe is a simple trade dispute between shareholders, not a case to be dealt with in criminal justice.

Four Russians, employees of Baring Vostok, had also been arrested in this case.

The fate of Mr. Delpal was discussed in mid-April during a meeting between Vladimir Putin and French investors, and Emmanuel Macron had also spoken to the Russian president at the G20 in late June in Japan.

This strategy seems to have paid off when the French president must receive Monday Mr Putin in his holiday residence at Fort Brégançon, in southern France.

The Moscow City Court has decided to put Mr. Delpal, 46, under house arrest, under house arrest, before releasing him in the courtroom, according to an AFP journalist.

"I am not involved in this so-called crime, there has been no robbery or deception," Delpal was quoted as saying during the hearing. "My life is in Moscow, fleeing is not an option, because it would mean acknowledging that I am guilty".

- Case "rise from scratch" -

Philippe Delpal has lived in Russia for fifteen years with his wife Cécile and their two daughters. To support his request for house arrest, the family has purchased an apartment in Moscow in recent months.

"I am very happy, I am very moved, I will finally be able to talk to Philippe, I have not spoken to him for six months, my daughters will be able to see him, talk to him", said Cécile Delpal to AFP, expressing "a thought of course for the co-accused" Russian Ivan Ziuzin, Vagane Abgarian and Maxime Vladimirov, who remain in custody.

"It's still a jail, maybe golden," she tempered, "in a smaller apartment than we have today." He will not be able to go out, he will be locked up in that apartment. " .

Michael Calvey, a highly respected Russian investor, was released in April and placed under house arrest. At a second hearing on Thursday, the Moscow City Court refused to change the measure while introducing a slight easing of its conditions of probation.

In a statement, Baring Vostok welcomed these decisions, while regretting the continued detention of three of his staff. The fund has denounced "a trumped up criminal case" and affirmed its intention to "continue to fight in court".

A graduate of Télécom ParisTech University, Philippe Delpal founded the Russian subsidiary of consumer credit specialist Cetelem (BNP Paribas Group) and also worked for Société Générale, before joining Baring Vostok in 2012. He is a consultant for the France since 2006, but does not enjoy diplomatic status as such.

Arrests or lawsuits against entrepreneurs are relatively common in Russia, often initiated by local authorities or competitors, but foreign investors are rarely involved.

The next hearing for those involved in this case is scheduled for 13 October.

© 2019 AFP