Appeal Court to Continue Questioning Former Snoras Bank Chief Antonov

The Lithuanian Court of Appeal is set to continue questioning Vladimir Antonov, the former head of the failed Snoras bank, in a case that has already produced prison sentences of more than 10 years.

The appellate court began examining the case on its merits in June. Antonov has started giving evidence and admits his guilt. He has also asked to begin serving the sentence imposed by the first-instance court before the judgment becomes final, a request the Court of Appeal approved.

Antonov and Raimondas Baranauskas, another former Snoras shareholder who is now hiding in Russia, were convicted in the autumn of 2024. The lower court issued the verdict in absentia. Prosecutors say the former shareholders were ordered to forfeit 105 million euros jointly to the state.

Both men were convicted over the misappropriation of more than 509 million euros in bank assets, high-value embezzlement, criminal bankruptcy and legalization of criminally acquired property. The charges also covered fraudulent accounting, abuse of office for personal or other financial gain, and the forgery and use of forged documents linked to securities held by the bank at foreign banks.

Antonov had evaded law enforcement and been wanted since 2011. Prosecutors announced last December that French authorities had detained him, and he was brought to Lithuania this year. The case has received four appeals, two involving Antonov and Baranauskas and two involving other participants. Snoras, which was nationalized, entered bankruptcy proceedings on Nov. 16, 2011.