By: Hadassa Kalatizadeh
A prominent former banking tycoon has renounced his Russian Citizenship to display his dissent with the war against Ukraine.
As reported by the NY Times, multi-millionaire Oleg Y. Tinkov became the latest business mogul to renounce his Russian citizenship. The 54-year-old Russian-born entrepreneur and businessman, founded Tinkoff Bank, a digital credit card company. “I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbor,” Mr. Tinkov, wrote Monday on Instagram. “It is a shame for me to continue to hold this passport.”
He said his post from Monday, “mysteriously disappeared” off of Instagram, as per NBC News. So, he wrote another post Tuesday saying: “I decided to renounce my Russian citizenship after Russia invasion of independent Ukraine. I am against this war, and the killing of peaceful people.” Mr. Tinkov still has citizenship inCyprus. The online bank he founded, Tinkoff or TCS Group Holding, is the second largest provider of credit cards in Russia, and is the world’s largest digital bank, based on the number of clients. The online bank is also one of the country’s best-known brands.
This makes his public renouncement all the more worthy. Back in AprilTinkov already spoke out criticizing the war. This past spring, he made a statement publicly denouncing President Vladimir V. Putin telling the NY Times that because of the invasion, “Russia, as a country, no longer exists.” Mr.Tinkov told the press at the time that after he made public statements against the war, the Kremlin forced him to sell his multibillion-dollar 35% stake in his bank for a price which really represented just 3% of its true value. Despite his antiwar sentiments, however, the United Kingdom still included his name on a sanctions list last March.
Tinkov’s estimated net worth was over $8.2 billion last year in November, as per Bloomberg Billionaire index. That number, however, dwindled to just $0.8 billion some four months later, givingclout to what he said about being forced to sell his stakes in his company.
As per the Times, Mr. Tinkov isn’t the first Russian- born mogul to renounce his citizenship. Critics say that the move isn’t just a statement of principle, but also a tactic to avoid sanctions or to appease potential business partners. Other prominent persons to have publicly renounced their Russian citizenship due to the war include billionaire NikolayStoronsky, 37-year-old co-founder and CEO of the London-based financial start-up Revolut; and Yuri Milner, the Israeli billionaire tech investor who cofounded internet company Mail.Ru Group and founded investment firm DST Global.
“I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens Putin’s regime and his economy,” Mr. Tinkov wrote on Instagram on Monday, posting a picture of a document proving his renunciation. “My name should not be associated with fascism,” Tinkov said Tuesday, explaining that he is suing the bank to stop using his name. “I hate when my brand/name is associated with the bank that collaborates with killers and blood.”
