In an interview with The New York Times, businessman Oleg Tinkov said that after his anti-war post, the presidential administration contacted the leadership of the bank he created and threatened to nationalize it if the company did not cut ties with the founder..

Recall that in his post on April 19, Tinkov called the invasion of Ukraine a “crazy war” and criticized the state of the Russian army.. After that, Tinkoff announced that it would change its name, and last week it became known that the founder sold a 35% stake to Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin.

Tinkov in an interview calls it " I was in a hostage position - you take what they offer you. I couldn't negotiate."

He added that the Kremlin threatened the management to nationalize the bank if the company does not change its owner and name.. Tinkov says he is grateful to Potanin for helping him get at least some money from going out of business. He did not name the amount of the transaction, but clarified that he sold the company for only 3% of what he considered the real value of the business.. “I sold it for a penny,” sums up the businessman, whose fortune before the war Forbes estimated at almost $5 billion..

Tinkov said he hired bodyguards after friends with Russian intelligence connections told him he should fear for his life.. Tinkov ironic that although he survived leukemia, now the Kremlin can kill him. “I was told: “The decision on you has been made”. Does this mean that on top of that they will kill me, I don't know. I do not rule it out,” says Tinkov.

The ex-banker also gave an assessment of what is happening in the country: “I realized that Russia as a country no longer exists”. At the same time, he predicts that Putin will remain in power for a long time to come.. “I thought the Putin regime was bad. But, of course, I did not expect that it would take such catastrophic proportions, ”continues Tinkov. In his opinion, it is unlikely that anything will change during Putin's lifetime.. “I don’t believe in the future of Russia,” he said.

The Kremlin did not respond to a request for comment.. "

Tinkov denies that he gave an interview in the hope of lifting sanctions from him (at the end of March he was on the UK sanctions list). However, he hopes that the British government will eventually "

Ex-banker says elites 'shocked' by war, with many calling him to offer support. “They understand that they are connected with the West, that they are part of the global market, and so on,” says Tinkov.. – And they quickly turn into Iran. And they don't like it. They want their children to spend their summer holidays in Sardinia." Tinkov says complications from leukemia made him more courageous.

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Earlier, experts said that Russia has changed tactics, next week will determine the course of the war.