- Tinkoff Bank is distancing itself from Oleg Tinkov after the Russian millionaire publicly slammed Putin’s war in Ukraine.
- Tinkov — who founded the bank — on Tuesday called Putin’s war “crazy” and said that anyone who supports it is a “moron.”
- Tinkoff Bank said Tinkov was just “one of our 20 million clients” and wouldn’t comment on his remarks.
A Russian tycoon’s bank is now distancing itself from the millionaire after he publicly slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Oleg Tinkov on Tuesday took to Instagram to call Putin’s war “crazy” and said that anyone who supports it is a “moron.” He went on to call Russia’s army “shitty” and plagued by nepotism.
After the scathing post, Tinkoff Bank, which was founded by Tinkov in 2006, posted on Telegram that they wouldn’t comment on the “personal opinion of Oleg Tinkov, expressed by him on social networks.”
“Oleg Tinkov has not been a decision-maker in the Tinkoff Group companies for many years,” the bank said in its statement.
“He is not a Tinkoff employee, he has not been to Russia for a long time, and has been taking care of his health in recent years,” Tinkoff wrote. “Oleg Tinkov is one of our 20 million clients. We know that our clients think differently, and we respect their right to their own opinion, whether we support it or not.”
Tinkov stepped down as chair of Tinkoff's board two years ago, S&P Global reported at the time.
A Tinkov family trust held an 84% stake in the company, though those voting rights were reduced to a 35% stake after the shares were converted in January 2021, according to the bank's website.
Oleg Tinkov is the founder of Tinkoff Bank, which is one of a few Russian banks that allows money to flow in and out of Russia from Western tech companies since the start of the war, Insider previously reported.
Russia has said that anyone, including business leaders, who criticizes the war will be prosecuted.
Translations by Oleksandr Vynogradov