Prosecutor says Antonov’s testimony lacks specific details

Former Snoras shareholder Vladimir Antonov acknowledges his guilt but has not provided specific details in testimony, prosecutor Darius Stankevičius said Tuesday, according to LRT, citing BNS.

The Lithuanian Court of Appeal continued questioning Antonov in the criminal case concerning the embezzlement of assets of particularly high value. Antonov was brought before the court after 15 years of searches.

“The court, the prosecutor and other participants in the proceedings tried to ask for specific details, but he attempts to obscure the issue by discussing general banking processes. He does not directly identify the specific schemes or tries to avoid naming them,” Stankevičius told reporters after the hearing.

The prosecutor said Antonov’s testimony created an “ambiguous feeling.” Although Antonov does not dispute the factual circumstances of the case, Stankevičius said he was not being sincere.

During hearings on Monday and Tuesday, Antonov answered questions from Judge Aušra Bielskė, Stankevičius and Snoras lawyer Dovilė Armalytė. They asked how funds had been transferred from Snoras to accounts controlled by Antonov, why the bank’s bankruptcy had not been declared and what specific instruments had been used to improve the bank’s financial position.

Antonov said he had used Snoras funds to increase its capital and reserves and preserve the bank’s liquidity. He said he had been unable to do so with his personal funds and had believed that the unlawful actions would save the bank only temporarily.

He had previously told the court that the shareholders’ actions were intended to preserve Snoras’s liquidity during the economic crisis. He said the transactions were supposed to be completed by 2012 at the latest and that the financial difficulties would then be resolved.

According to Stankevičius, case evidence indicates that Antonov acted in a similar way in Latvia with the former Krajbanka and in Russia. Latvia has also requested his extradition, BNS reported.

The prosecutor said Antonov could be transferred to Latvia only after serving his sentence in Lithuania, although a temporary transfer under an international legal instrument could be possible for certain proceedings.

Antonov and former Snoras executive Raimondas Baranauskas were accused of embezzling assets worth 509.18 million euros, causing 466.67 million euros in damage to Snoras and its creditors, and misappropriating a further 14.5 million euros.

Vilnius Regional Court sentenced both former bank owners in absentia to 10.5 years in prison last November. They were convicted of abuse of office, the appropriation and embezzlement of property of particularly high value, document forgery, criminal bankruptcy, money laundering and fraudulent accounting, covering eight intentional crimes.

Antonov was also recognised as the principal organiser of the crimes. The court ordered both men to compensate 375.18 million euros in damages and ordered the confiscation of assets worth 105 million euros that had been acquired through crime. European arrest warrants were issued for both men.