 Before he completed his takeover of the club, Romanov had pledged to eradicate the club's debt, which he completely failed to do - in fact the debt increased markedly during his tenure, in spite of such cash inputs as £9 million earned by the sale of Craig Gordon to Sunderland.Soon after the takeover was completed, the debt was transferred from HBOS and SMG to the financial institutions controlled by Romanov, Ūkio bankas and UBIG.Romanov permitted Hearts to greatly increase their spending on players, though much of this money was wasted in signings - instigated by Romanov - of sub-standard and disinterested foreign players, such as Laryea Kingston and David Obua.