SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Russian tycoon renounces citizenship citing Ukrainian war, calls Putin ‘fascist’

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian billionaire banker Oleg Tinkov has renounced his citizenship.
Calling President Vladimir Putin a “fascist”, Tinkov in an Instagram post said, “I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship. I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing innocent people daily.”
“I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens Putin’s regime and his economy, and put him eventually to defeat.”
The post was later found to be removed from Instagram.
An independent Russian news source, Sota Vision, tweeted a photo of Tinkov’s certificate showing his Russian citizenship terminated.
The 54-year-old Russian oligarch has been critical of Putin, describing it as an “insane war” and urging the West to “end the massacre”.
“The Kremlin bureaucrats are shocked that not just they, but also their children now won’t travel to the Mediterranean in summer. Businessmen are trying to save the remains of their property,” he said in April.
Tinkov is one of Russia’s self-made business tycoons. He is the founder of Tinkoff Bank, which is one of Russia’s largest lenders, and offers services to 20 million customers.
The businessman was earlier arrested in 2020 in London on charges of tax evasion in the US. He was later given bail due to his leukaemia condition.
In the same year, he stepped down from the role of CEO of Tinkoff.
Notably, he is not the only Russian entrepreneur to give up his citizenship.
According to media reports, another Russian banker Nikolay Storonsky gave up his nationality.
In a blog post earlier this year, Storonsky strongly condemned the Russia-Ukraine war, revealing his Ukrainian family connections.

He has British citizenship and founded the British fintech start-up Revolut.

 

    Source:
  • Wions