These statements threaten 15 years in prison in Russia!
Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov (54) has accused the Russian army of carrying out “massacres” in Ukraine. In a message on Instagram on Tuesday, Tinkow called for an end to the “insane war” against the neighboring country.
“90 percent of Russians are against this war,” wrote the expatriate founder of Tinkoff Bank (Russia’s largest online bank). Only a minority supported the war. But ten percent of every country are “idiots”.
Tinkov, who comes from Siberia, is one of the Russian oligarchs who have been subject to Western sanctions over the war of aggression against Ukraine. As the business magazine “Capital” reported, the shares in his Tinkoff bank fell by around 80 percent as a result of the sanctions. As a result, Tinkow, who gained notoriety as the operator of a professional cycling team, is said to have lost around $5 billion.
In his Instagram post, he now harshly criticized the Russian army and the leadership circle around Kremlin despot Vladimir Putin (69).
The Russian generals have now realized “that they have a shitty army,” wrote Tinkov. “And how good is the army when the whole rest of the country sucks and is polluted with nepotism, toadyism and subservience.”
He himself sees “not a single beneficiary of this insane war”, which only leads to “innocent people and soldiers dying”. Speaking in English, Tinkov addressed the West: “Please show Mr. Putin a clear way out that will save face and stop this massacre. Please be more rational and philanthropic.”
According to Tinkov, the Russian elite is unhappy about the impact of Western sanctions on Moscow. Kremlin officials are “shocked” that they and their children will no longer be able to spend their summer holidays in the Mediterranean. “Entrepreneurs are trying to salvage what’s left of their property,” Tinkow wrote.
Tinkoff Bank said it would not comment on Tinkow’s “private opinion.” The founder of the company is no longer an employee of the bank and has not been in Russia for a long time. In addition, he had had to deal with “health problems in the past few years”.
In May 2020, it became known that Tinkow had leukemia. In 2021 he had to pay around 500 million US dollars (460 million euros) to the US tax authorities for tax evasion, but escaped extradition to the USA.
The Russian authorities are taking massive action against critics of the Ukraine invasion. Statements the government has classified as “fake news” about the army carry a prison sentence of up to 15 years. It is unclear where Tinkow was last staying.