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Owner of TT television rights faces arrest

A Europe-wide arrest warrant has been put out for the man who ultimately owns the television rights for the TT.

Vladimir Antonov owns Convers Sports Initiatives, which bought North One Sports in March this year.

That deal saw audience figures hit record highs as almost 16 million people in more than 80 countries watched the racing.

But this week, Lithuanian authorities issued the warrant for Mr Antonov's arrest, alleging £200 million had gone missing from a Latvian bank.

The 36-year-old Russian is based in London and has a personal fortune said to be worth around $300 million.

The allegations against Mr Antonov in Lithuania involve Snoras Bank, in which he is the majority shareholder.

Currently, Snoras is in administration, but Convers Sports Initiatives has put a statement on its website reassuring its companies and staff that it's business as usual.

The statement says the owner of North One Sports is operationally unaffected by Snoras Bank entering temporary administration.

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