Vladimir Nikolayevich Romanov (Russian: Владимир Николаевич Романов, IPA: [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ rɐˈmanəf]; Lithuanian: Vladimiras Romanovas; born 15 June 1947)[1] is a Russian-Lithuanian businessman.

[1] This meant that Romanov was forced to support the rest of the family,[1] which he did by driving a taxi[1] and selling Western popular music,[1] including bootleg copies of records by The Beatles, Elvis Presley and The Rolling Stones.

[1][8] Through his private investment group UBIG,[8] Romanov had business interests including aluminium,[9] textiles,[1] property[1] and television.

Romanov and 11 of his Ukio Bankas staff are also charged with misconduct in a public capacity, money laundering, and "establishing and directing illegal entities" to conceal any wrongdoing.

[14] On March 14, 2019, 22 members of EU Parliament from 14 countries including Lithuania, Germany, UK, Belgium, Finland, Sweden and Poland wrote an open letter to Jean-Claude Juncker – president of the European Commission – asking to take "appropriate measures" against Romanov for his role in Troika Laundromat.

[18] Dundee and Livingston subsequently went into administration,[19][20] while Hibs and Dunfermline took drastic measures to balance their finances, cutting their player budgets severely[21][22] and selling their assets.

[29] The sale of Robinson's shares was completed on 2 February 2005[30] after Romanov made financial guarantees that the club could continue to trade without selling Tynecastle.

[citation needed] Romanov was the owner of the Lithuanian Premier League basketball club and the EuroLeague participant BC Žalgiris since May 2009.

[2][3] He made numerous controversial decisions including firing head coaches one by one, first Ramūnas Butautas, and more famously firing head coach Darius Maskoliūnas in the middle of LKL finals series, players had to draw their own tactic schemes and make substitutions, which resulted in losses to the rivals Lietuvos Rytas in decisive games.

After a positive start that had not been seen for years, Vladimir Romanov once again shocked the country by firing head coach Aleksandar Petrović, who was replaced by Elias Zouros, which resulted in a series of losses and Mirza Begić's decision to leave the team.

Before the 2013 season, Romanov built up a powerful team, with many fans even thinking of a spot in the EuroLeague playoffs, as well as hiring new coach Joan Plaza.

[citation needed] During Romanov's time, while the team was successful in domestic competition, poor results, minus the 2012–2013 season, were displayed in the EuroLeague.

[39] Due to the purported lack of artistry in his dance moves and alleged forgery of voting results, Romanov was called Buratino (Lithuanian: Buratinas), or 'wooden puppet', by the show host Arūnas Valinskas, a nickname he is now referred to by his critics in Lithuania.