Billionaire Oleg Tinkov, founder of the online bank Tinkoff, a great fintech success in recent years, announced on Monday that he had renounced his Russian nationality due to the conflict in Ukraine, which he had harshly criticized.
“I made the decision to renounce my Russian citizenship. I cannot and do not want to be associated with a fascist country that has started a war with its peaceful neighbor and kills innocent people every day,” Oleg Tinkov wrote on Instagram.
He accompanied his message with a photograph of a certificate from the Russian consulate confirming the end of his Russian citizenship. “I hate Putin’s Russia, but I love all Russians who are clearly against this crazy war!” Oleg Tinkov wrote again.
“Masquerade”
Colorful billionaire Oleg Tinkov is the founder of Tinkoff Bank, which has grown rapidly and in 2020 claimed to be the third largest retail bank in Russia behind state-owned giants Sberbank and VTB. He claims to have some 20 million customers today.
He had harshly criticized the “absurd” Russian offensive in Ukraine in April, calling on Westerners to help put an end to this “massacre”. He was one of the strongest positions issued at that time by a Russian businessman.
Oleg Tinkov was arrested in 2020 in London at the request of the United States, which accused him of tax evasion. He was later released on bail and undergoing treatment in London for leukemia. He stepped down as CEO of the Tinkoff bank in 2020, the latter having distanced himself from his anti-offensive statements.
Source: BFM TV
