“I made the decision to leave Russian citizenship. I cannot and will not be associated with a fascist country that started a war with its peaceful neighbor and killing innocent people every day,” Tinkov said. “I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, thus weakening Putin’s regime and his economy and finally setting him up for defeat,” he wrote on Instagram. He shared an image of a certificate confirming the “end” of his Russian citizenship. “I hate Putin’s Russia, but I love all Russians, who are clearly against this crazy war!” wrote Tinkov. The colorful billionaire is one of Russia’s best-known self-made tycoons and founded the online Tinkoff Bank. The bank is one of Russia’s biggest lenders, behind state-owned giants Sberbank and VTB. Tinkoff has approximately 20 million customers. Tinkov, 54, strongly criticized Russia’s attack on Ukraine, describing it as a “crazy war” as he called on the West to end the “slaughter”. It was also targeted by British sanctions imposed soon after the conflict began in late February. He was previously arrested in London in 2020 on US tax evasion charges. He was later released on bail and treated for leukemia in London. He stepped down from his role as CEO of Tinkoff in 2020 and the bank has distanced itself from his comments.
