SAAB/Spyker in January 2011:
GM decides Vladimir Antonov is a good guy after all

Vladimir Antonov - Not a 'Red under the Bed' after all.

GM has decided earlier this year that Spyker backer Vladimir Antonov is not a ‘Red under the Bed’ or the Russian Mafia’s banker after all. So now they’re happy to bank his money.
Some detected the odour of McCarthyism when GM told Spyker there could be no deal on Saab unless it showed major backer Vladimir Antonov the door. Which seemed a bit harsh; after all, there seemed no evidence to support accusations of links to organised crime by Vladimir or Convers Bank. It seemed to the casual observer that GM had developed a terminal case of Reds under the Bed.
But it now seems that GM has had a change of heart. It now appears ready to accept Vladimir/Convers as investor/shareholder/piggybank for Spyker/Saab (delete as required). Which could have much to do with an investigation commissioned by Vladimir which disproved all allegations of connections between Vladimir/Convers and the less salubrious sides of business life.
Or it could be that GM would quite like to offload the shareholding it still has in Saab (US$326 million of redeemable preference shares on the basis of the valuation when Saab finally got sold to Spyker.