Russian entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov, whose shares in flagship bank Tinkoff were bought by a Russian billionaire close to the Kremlin, said on Tuesday he had been “punished” for his “opinion” after criticizing the war in Ukraine.
“Too bad my country ended up sinking into archasism, paternalism and servility. There is no more Russia, everything is gone,” he said in an Instagram post.
“And the threats against me personally, a person battling the most serious blood cancer – leukemia -, the desire to punish (me) just for…in my honest opinion, show the ultimate dehumanization of the regime.” , added the 54-year-old man.
On April 29, the fund of Vladimir Potanin, a Russian billionaire close to the Kremlin, announced that it had bought Oleg Tinkov’s shares in the Tinkoff bank.
Founded in 2006 by Oleg Tinkov and a great FinTech success in recent years, this bank had become one of the first retail banks in the country, drawing its popularity from its innovative functions as well as the atypical personality of its founder.
A few days earlier, on April 19, he had publicly castigated the war.
“90% of Russians are AGAINST this war”, he assured on Instagram, stressing that he saw “NO beneficiary of this absurd war” where “innocent people and soldiers are dying”.
In response, Tinkoff Bank recalled that the latter left the post of CEO in 2020 and no longer made decisions regarding the group’s operations, and announced a redesign of the brand.
In an interview with the New York Times on Sunday, Oleg Tinkov spoke for the first time after the takeover, saying he had to make “a desperate sale”, indicating that he had not been able to negotiate and now feared for his safety.
On Tuesday, however, he said he was grateful to Mr Potanin for “quickly redeeming” his assets.
Comparison of credit card offers for a travel abroad
“Goodbye to the Tinkoff bank, goodbye to Russia. I have nothing left in Russia. And it’s bad for Russia. I was one of the few to have succeeded, despite, and not thanks to the regime”, he added, recalling that at his “peak”, Forbes was worth his fortune at $9.4 billion.
“I was proud, not of the amount, but of the fact that in a corrupt and archaic Russia you can build an honest, free and American-style business!, He continued, concluding that “Ukraine will win for good always prevails over evil.”
In an interview granted Tuesday to the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, he said he lived in Tuscany and entrusted his protection to the Italian secret services.
Oleg Tinkov is currently under British sanctions.