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At the end of 2022 he gave up his Russian passport and now lives in Switzerland: the former banking oligarch Oleg Tinkov (55) is not only known in this country as a former cycling patron. Tinkov is also an outspoken hater of Putin, who now doesn’t mince words about what he thinks of the Russian elite, who are silent about the invasion of Ukraine.
The self-made billionaire has always been considered an outsider in Russia’s Kremlin-dominated business world. Tinkov now denounces Putin’s accomplices as “cowards.” He calls on the Kremlin’s profiteers to oppose the war. The West should entice them to do so – with the prospect of sanctions being lifted.
Tinkov is the first Russian billionaire to have sanctions imposed by the West lifted. Tinkow won a victory in a British court this week. This victory, he says in an interview with the “Financial Times”, will also encourage the Moscow elite to speak out against the invasion of war president Vladimir Putin (70) in Ukraine.
West should lead by example
The sanctions against him were a mistake “which they have now corrected,” says Tinkow. But that is also “good” for the West: “You can show other Russian business people – who have gathered around Putin thanks to the sanctions – that you can send a signal and leave Russia for the civilized world.”
Tinkow still sees himself as the only one among his peers. From the start, he had denounced Putin’s “mad war” and complained that Russia was sinking into “fascism”. In protest, he gave up his Russian citizenship.
Several other Russian billionaires broke off friendship with him over his anti-war statements. “A lot of them don’t talk to me anymore because they’re scared,” says Tinkow. “I have stopped talking to others because they are cowards.”
Switzerland residence
Now he hopes to persuade the Russian oligarchs to turn against Putin. “You have to choose a chair and sit on it. Sitting between two chairs, as they have done for the past 30 years as friends of Putin, no longer works.”
Other Russians would also challenge sanctions, but continue to do business with Russia. “I don’t know how they can do it,” puzzles Tinkow.
Tinkov apparently has not visited Russia since he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019. He lives in Switzerland and lost his shares in his bank Tinkoff last year. Because of his harsh criticism of the war, the Kremlin forced him into an “emergency sale.” It is unclear whether Tinkow has Swiss nationality.
Largest wealth transfer since the end of the Soviet Union
The preferred strategy of most other Russian tycoons is to hope for peace and to avoid direct criticism of Putin. The fear of losing your entire fortune over a few critical words is real.
Several oligarchs have told the Financial Times they would be willing to speak out more directly against Putin and the war if the West showed them a clear way to lift sanctions.
But a year and a half after the war, the Kremlin has shifted to a strategy of rewarding loyal Russian businessmen. The loyalty of oligarchs is bought with promises to become even richer by taking over Western companies in Russia. The country is currently experiencing the largest wealth transfer since the end of the Soviet Union and the beginning of capitalism in the 1990s.
Russian Roulette
But even today, the Kremlin can expropriate oligarchs loyal to the line. Tinkow: “My Siberian intuition tells me that their assets will also be nationalized. It is only a matter of time.” He “does not think Russia has a long-term future under Putin, because these resources are constantly being shuffled. There is no law, no courts. Today you win, tomorrow you lose – it’s Russian roulette.”
But even for him, freed from sanctions in the West, life is not easy. The sanctions made life more difficult for him than for the businessmen who remained in Russia, many of whom are still traveling to Europe. “Tinkoff’s management and others are all on holiday in St Tropez. And I have suffered in vain.”
‘Don’t know if Putin will kill me’
“Instead of being a hero to England and Europe, I put myself in danger and I still do,” Tinkow concluded in Friday’s interview. “I don’t know if Putin wants to kill me for this or not.”
Friends of Putin’s regime “are in St. Tropez, run the bank and travel the world. That’s not fair.” (kes)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
