The French court ruled to extradite former co-owner of Latvijas krājbanka Antonov to Lithuania 0 9

Antonov's lawyer, Henri Ermen, stated that his client will appeal the court's decision.

"The court obviously did not take into account the real risk to Mr. Antonov's life in Eastern Europe," the lawyer told AFP.

Antonov was detained in December in the Brittany region of France. The Prosecutor General's Office of Lithuania issued a European arrest warrant for him on December 9.

In November 2024, the Vilnius District Court sentenced Russian citizen Antonov and former CEO of Snoras, Lithuanian citizen Raimondas Baranauskas, to 10.5 years in prison in absentia for embezzling bank funds on a large scale. Baranauskas's whereabouts are unknown.

The lawyers for Antonov and Baranauskas appealed the verdict. The Appeals Court of Lithuania is expected to begin reviewing the appeals in April.

The Prosecutor General's Office transferred the criminal case to court in 2019 after seven years of pre-trial investigation.

Antonov and Baranauskas were sentenced to imprisonment for eight intentional crimes. Antonov was also recognized as the main organizer of the crimes.

The court established that they embezzled property worth approximately 509 million euros, caused damage to the bank Snoras and its creditors of about 460 million euros, and embezzled an additional 14.5 million euros.

The imposed penalties corresponded to the requirements of the prosecution.

Antonov and Baranauskas were charged with embezzlement of bank Snoras assets on a large scale, misappropriation, intentional bankruptcy, money laundering, accounting fraud, abuse of official power, and forgery of documents.

The court found them guilty on all charges.

In 2015, UK courts ruled to extradite Antonov and Baranauskas to Lithuania, where they were then residing in London, but they left for Russia. Antonov's lawyer stated that he left the UK fearing for his life.

In preparation for the in absentia trial of Antonov and Baranauskas, Lithuanian prosecutors notified the Prosecutor General's Office of Russia in March 2018 about the charges, but Russia refused to extradite them.

The Lithuanian government nationalized the bank Snoras and suspended its operations in November 2011 due to concerns about the bank's condition. A bankruptcy case was later initiated. A short time later, a shortfall of approximately 100 million lats (140 million euros) was also discovered at Latvijas krājbanka, and in December 2011, the Riga District Court declared the bank insolvent.