Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov, founder of online bank Tinkoff, has renounced Russian citizenship over the invasion of Ukraine, which he had already criticized in April, calling it “absurd” and calling on Westerners to help end the “massacre”. . This was one of the strongest positions taken at the time by a Russian businessman.
“I have made the decision to give up my Russian citizenship. I cannot and do not want to be associated with a fascist country that has provoked a war with a peaceful neighbor and kills innocents daily,” Tinkov wrote on Instagram. “I hope that other top Russian businessmen will follow my example, to weaken the (Vladimir) Putin regime and its economy and lead it to failure,” added the bank’s founder.
Tinkoff grew rapidly and in 2020 became the third Russian bank, behind state-owned conglomerates Sberbank and VTB. Today it has about 20 million customers.
Also in 2020, the businessman was arrested in London, at the request of the United States, accused of tax fraud. He was later released on bail. That same year, he stepped down as director general of Tinkoff, an entity that distanced itself from its founder’s statements against the Russian offensive.
#Billionaire #businessman #renounces #Russian #nationality #Ukraine #conflict