Britain lifts sanctions against Russian banker Tinkov

The United Kingdom has lifted sanctions against Russian banker Oleg Tinkov, according to the British government's notice.

The reason for this decision is not specified.

In imposing sanctions against Tinkov in early 2022, the British government called him a prominent Russian businessman who benefited from cooperation with the Russian government as the owner and beneficiary of TCS Group Holding PLC and Tinkoff Bank Holding.

A few days ago, the founder of Virgin Group, British billionaire Richard Branson, who in April 2023 became an ambassador of the United24 fundraising platform, asked the British government to lift sanctions on Tinkov.

"I feel strongly that Mr Tinkov has been wrongly included on the list of sanctioned Russians. Whilst he was a wealthy Russian businessman, he has never been an oligarch. I have always known him as a self-made dynamic entrepreneur. That is why I have liked and supported him and continue to do so," Branson wrote.

The United Kingdom is one of two Western countries where Tinkov was under sanctions (the other is Australia). As the former owner of Tinkoff Bank, sanctions have also been imposed on him in Ukraine.

This is not the first time Britain has lifted sanctions: in early July, Lev Khasis, a former high-ranking official of the Russian Sberbank, was also removed from the sanctions list.

In May 2022, Tinkov was forced to sell Tinkoff Bank. At the time, he condemned Russia's aggression, saying that the country "finally slipped into archaism, paternalism and sleaze."

In 2021, Tinkov ranked 32nd in the list of the richest businessmen in Russia with a fortune of $4.7 billion. In 2022, he ceased to be a dollar billionaire. TCS Group Holding Plc, which owned Tinkoff Bank, was founded in 1999 and registered in Cyprus. The bank itself now has, according to his data, more than 12 million customers in Russia.