Russian tycoon Oleg Tinkov, who owns several luxury properties in Italy, was forced to sell his stake in his bank after criticizing the Kremlin’s actions on his Instagram account. The tycoon spoke about the incident in a telephone conversation with the New York Post.
In November, the fortune of one of the few Russian oligarchs who independently achieved success in the non-energy business was estimated at $9 billion. However, on April 19, the founder of one of the largest banks in Russia criticized the war in Ukraine. According to Tinkov, the next day people from Putin’s administration called him and threatened to nationalize his bank and cut off contact with him. So last week, the billionaire was forced to sell his 35% stake to mining billionaire Vladimir Potanin for next to nothing.
“I didn’t have a chance to discuss the price. I was like a prisoner – take what they offer you. I couldn’t bargain,” Tinkov told the American publication. He did not say where he lives at the moment, but added that he had to hire bodyguards because his friends told him that his life was now in danger.
In 2019, Tinkov was diagnosed with leukemia, but a year later it was announced that he had recovered. The billionaire says he survived leukemia but will now be killed by the Kremlin. According to the Russian, he received only 3% of the market value of his stake in the bank.
“I was forced to sell it because of my declarations,” admitted Tinkov.
He told an American newspaper that many of his Russian elite friends feel the same way as him, but are afraid to say so publicly for fear of the repercussions on their personal lives and wallets. Therefore, they declared their solidarity with him only in private conversations.
“I realized that Russia as a state no longer exists.” He considered the Putin regime bad, but did not realize that everything could be so catastrophic.
Tinkov was the founder of the global online bank Tinkoff in 2006. Now the bank itself has made statements that its management sold shares in Vladimir Potanin’s company without receiving any threats.
The billionaire also had problems with the West. Last year, he agreed to pay $507 million to close a US tax fraud case. In March, he was included in the British sanctions list against the Russian business elite. However, many see Oleg Tinkov as a rare example of a Russian business pioneer modeled on British billionaire Richard Branson. From a beer producer, a Russian became the founder of one of the most innovative online banks in the world. Unlike other Russian oligarchs who parted ways with Putin years ago and lived abroad, such as oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky and tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov, Tinkov found a way to continue his business until at least April 19 without destroying his bridges. Kremlin.
Tinkov moved to Italy, where he bought several luxury properties in Tuscany. In Forte dei Marmi, he also owns the luxurious hotel La Dacha, where rich Russians stay. He later ceded control of the Tinkoff group, leaving a 35% stake. Last month it was valued at $20 billion on the London Stock Exchange. According to Tinkov, now he has sold his quota for a penny. The Russian says he thought about giving it up some time ago because “as long as Putin is alive, I doubt anything will change.”