"We really did not expected this move from the board of the Bank of Lithuania," Romanov said in a comment published on kaunodiena.lt news portal.
In his words, a billion litas worth of property was pledged following the Bank of Lithuania's demand for "additional pledge."
"After the Bank of Lithuania demanded additional pledge, we hired lawyers and satisfied the demands – we pledged an additional one billion litas worth of property. Therefore, the restriction of the bank's operations was unexpected, we even weren't given their report to study," said Romanov, who also owns Žalgiris Kaunas basketball club and Hearts football club in Scotland and who has earned notoriety for his controversial statements.
Last week, Romanov asked Kaunas city administration to increase the aid to his Žalgiris Kaunas basketball club, saying he was short on funds to pay salaries for the players. He also said he would shortly hand over the club's stake to three veterans of the club for a symbolic price. Romanov said he would keep a small stake or give all of the shares up.
