Jat’s “saviour” arrested

Head of Baltic Aviation Systems arrested

One of the five owners of Baltic Aviation Systems, the only company to buy the tender documentation for the creation of a new Serbian national carrier to replace Jat, has been arrested. Vladimir Antonov was arrested in London on Thursday after Lithuanian authorities issued extradition warrants. Prosecutors in the country want to question Antonov as part of an investigation into claims involving Snoras Bank. Snoras went into temporary administration last week. Antonov is also the owner of Portsmouth Football Club which became the first Premier League club to be placed into administration. In 2010 he unsuccessfully attempted to buy Swedish car maker Saab.

“In the public’s interest and in order to protect Jat’s reputation we are closely following and analysing all information regarding persons associated with Baltic Aviation Systems”, a statement from the Ministry of Infrastructure of Serbia said yesterday. However, the ministry seems less than phased that it will go ahead and hold talks with Baltic Aviation Systems whose owner is under suspicion of fraud and money laundering as it announced that it is anticipating the company’s offer by December 12. Baltic Aviation Systems owns 47% of airBaltic which several months ago filed for protection and announced it was cutting half of its workforce and 700 flights.

Meanwhile, Jat Airways’ pilots are demanding for the airline’s acting CEO, Vladimir Ognjenović, to resign and have launched a judicial process against the company’s Head of Training following a scandal earlier in the month for which no one has still faced any consequences.