Vladimir Antonov’s holding company director Lars Carlstrom has warmly welcomed today’s (28 April) Swedish National Debt Office (SNDO) decision to vindicate the Russian businessman’s application to own up to 30% of struggling Saab.
The SNDO approved Antonov’s application to underwrite EUR30m that would give him up to 29.9% – a process that has been dogged by controversy that has included rumours of money laundering and organised crime.
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“Finally, we have got some really, really good news in this process – he [Antonov] is totally, totally clear now,” Carlstrom told just-auto. “For Antonov, this has been devastating, living with these kind of rumours and it has affected his business.
“Luckily, we never doubted that this day would come. [Spyker chairman] Victor Muller has been working for 11 months and so we have all been a part of this tremendous scrutiny directed towards Antonov.”
It appears the SNDO was so concerned about rumours surrounding Antonov that it hired a battery of private investigators and legal teams in order to reassure itself of the Russian’s credentials to become a part-Saab owner.
“We heard the rumours from Russia concerning money laundering and organised crime,” SNDO project leader Saab guarantee Daniel Barr told just-auto from Stockholm.
“However, it is not uncommon that business people in Russia use internet type of newspapers to buy articles. We have tried to establish if anything like those reports has been true and we have not found anything”
Barr said the SNDO had used a private investigation firm Kroll, to establish Antonov’s integrity as well as a legal firm in Moscow. Antonov had also carried out his own study.
Carlstrom remains convinced now that SNDO approval of Antonov’s ownership application should make Swedish government ratification of the deal “a formality.”
“I can’t see any other way forward,” he added.
General Motors, which has preference shares in Saab, said it had reached “tentative agreement” to allow Antonov’s application subject to “consents, approvals and waivers.”
