A Swedish newspaper is reporting that the Swedish secret service intervened in the purchase of Saab by Dutch car manufacturer Spyker last month.

Spyker and General Motors, who owned Saab, had already closed a deal when they received information that Russian billionaire Vladimir Antonov, who owns a 30 percent stake in Spyker, was alleged to have ties to organise crime. The information was passed to General Motors by the FBI, which received it from the Swedish secret service. After reading the report, General Motors rejected Spyker’s initial offer.

The newspaper, Dagens Industri, has quoted a junior finance minister as confirming that a Swedish investigation into Antonov led to General Motors blocking last month’s deal with Spyker.

Victor Muller, who heads Spyker, has since bought out Mr Antonov’s shares in the company with help from the Dutch multi-millionaire Marcel Boekhoorn. This enabled the deal to be settled last week.

Photo of Saab cars by ANP