Tatyana Makeyeva/Reuters
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow says Russian authorities are blocking diplomats from visiting Michael Calvey, an American investment-fund manager who was arrested last week and is currently being held in pre-trial detention. “We have requested this access multiple times. The Russian Federation's Ministry of Foreign Affairs... has not allowed us to provide consular assistance,” the embassy wrote in a statement. “We have expressed our strong concern about this delay through diplomatic channels. We insist on access now.” Calvey, one of the top foreign investors in Russia, was indicted Thursday on charges of financial fraud in a case his company, Baring Vostok Capital Partners, has tied to a business dispute. If convicted, Calvey will reportedly face up to 10 years in prison. He has maintained his innocence. “My client chose not to answer questions. The charge is pretty vague and not concrete,” his lawyer, Dmitry Kletochkin, told Radio Free Europe. “That is why he will start answering questions [by interrogators] only after outlining defense position with his lawyers.”