Former Snoras bank shareholder Vladimir Antonov pleaded guilty on Tuesday as he testified in a Lithuanian Court of Appeal hearing into the collapsed lender’s criminal case.
Antonov admitted to the court that he acted illegally but maintained that neither he nor Baranauskas intended to destroy the bank, saying that he resorted to illegal means to try to stabilise the bank during the 2008 financial crisis.“Until 2008, everything went smoothly; the bank was recognised as the best bank in Lithuania, and everything was successful. [...] And until 2008, the future did not look as bleak as it does today,” Antonov told the court in Russian through an interpreter.
The Russian national was extradited from France to Lithuania in late May and is currently in custody.
Antonov explained that financial schemes involving securities, loans and capital increases were used to keep the bank operational, but admitted these were illegal decisions.“We understood it was illegal; we understood it was the only way for the bank to function; essentially, we were buying time. To close this scheme,” he said.Antonov stated that he acted together with Baranauskas and that decisions were made jointly, though he admitted to being the initiator of the crimes.When asked about the current whereabouts of Baranauskas, Antonov said he had helped him leave for Russia: "He is not hiding, he lives legally in the Russian Federation, [...] his phone number is known, and he moves freely within the country."The former banker also stated that if any assets belonging to him are found anywhere in the world, he is prepared to hand them over and compensate for the damages.At the same time, he denied having billions in his bank accounts.Baranauskas, who is also charged in the case, did not attend the hearing.Both former shareholders were previously sentenced in absentia by the Vilnius Regional Court to 10.5 years in prison for financial crimes and ordered to pay hundreds of millions of euros in damages.The Court of Appeal is currently hearing their appeals.
