Topline
Former banking tycoon Oleg Tinkov renounced his Russian citizenship, he announced on Instagram Monday, months after the ex-billionaire accused the Kremlin of forcing him to sell his stake in Russia’s second-largest bank over his refusal to tow the government’s line on its invasion of Ukraine.
Oleg Tinkov has renounced his Russian citizenship in protest against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Key Facts
In the Instagram post, Tinkov said he is renouncing his citizenship as he did not want to be associated with a “fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbour.”
Tinkov also urged other “prominent Russian businessmen” to do the same and weaken Putin’s war economy in the process.
The 54-year-old now only holds Cypriot citizenship.
After his original post mysteriously vanished from Instagram, Tinkov made another post early on Tuesday reiterating his decision and accusing “Kremlin trolls” of taking down his earlier post.
In his latest post, Tinkov said he was working with his lawyers to scrub the Tinkoff branding from his former bank—which he claims he was forced to sell.
Key Background
In April, Tinkov sold his 35% stake in TCS Group, the holding company which owned Tinkoff Bank along with other finance and telecom businesses. Between the start of Russia’s invasion and Tinkov’s decision to sell, TCS—which was listed on both the London and the Moscow Stock Exchanges—saw its value crater by more than 90%. Later in an interview, Tinkov alleged he was forced to sell his stake by the Kremlin, under the threat of nationalization, which was angered by his criticism of Putin’s invasion. The 54-year-old compared the transaction to a hostage situation, saying he was not allowed to negotiate the price and had to take what was being offered. In an Instagram post back in April, Tinkov had decried the invasion of Ukraine as “crazy”, adding “innocent people and soldiers are dying.”
News Peg
Tinkov is the third high profile Russian business tycoon to renounce his citizenship in the past few weeks. On Monday, British fintech startup Revolut disclosed its Russian-born CEO and co-founder Nikolay Storonsky renounced his Russian citizenship earlier this year. Vlad Yatsenko, Revolut’s other co-founder, is Ukrainian and has been a vocal critic of Putin and the invasion. Earlier in October, Russian-born billionaire and early Facebook investor Yuri Milner also announced that he and his family gave up their Russian citizenship earlier this year after having “left Russia for good” following its illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Forbes Valuation
We estimate Tinkov’s current net worth to be $646.7 million, sharply down from his peak net worth of $7.7 billion.
Further Reading
Oleg Tinkov, Former Banking Tycoon, Renounces Russian Citizenship Over Ukraine (New York Times)
Russia-Born Revolut Billionaire Gives Up His Citizenship (Bloomberg)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/11/01/cant-be-associated-with-a-facist-country-putin-critic-and-tycoon-oleg-tinkov-renounces-russian-citizenship/