“I have made the decision to leave Russian citizenship. I cannot and will not be associated with a fascist country, which started a war with its peaceful neighbor and kills innocent people every day,” Tinkov said. “I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens (President Vladimir) Putin’s regime and his economy and finally sets him up for defeat,” he wrote on Instagram. He shared a photo 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!” Tinkov said. 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 today. Tinkov had strongly criticized Russia’s attack on Ukraine, calling it 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 charges of tax evasion in the United States. 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 anti-aggressive comments.
