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Russia billionaires are infuriated with Vladimir Putin, and rightfully so.
They can’t fly their private planes to many places. They are banned from landing, taking off, or flying over the EU. Their multi-million dollar yachts are on “cruises to nowhere.” Germany seized a lavish $600 million yacht belonging to a Russian oligarch. Swiss banks are reportedly freezing Russian assets. It’s not looking good.
Russian billionaire and investor Alex Konanykhin, who is now based in the U.S., has called on Russian military officers to arrest Putin as a war criminal. The reward is one million dollars.
“I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrest(s) Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws,” Konanykhin wrote in a Facebook post. Take a look:
Konanykhin says he has not set foot on Russian soil since 1992 and was granted political asylum in the United States in 1999.
Konanykhin said the reward money will come from his personal funds.
“Facebook banned my post,” he explained. “Do you think it was a correct decision?”
He continued, “I omit the picture as it was a ‘dead or alive’ poster, but this is the text.”
“I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrest(s) Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws,” he said.
“Putin is not the Russian president as he came to power as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents,” Konanykhin added.
“As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia. I will continue my assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin’s Orda,” Konanykhin concluded.
Multiple other Russian billionaires, including Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, have called for an end to the fighting as sanctions begin to have a financial impact on the country.
“We need peace,” the Russian industrial tycoon Oleg Deripaska said. Talks between Russia and Ukraine must begin “as soon as possible!” he added.
The U.S. and the EU agreed to block “selected” Russian banks from the SWIFT system. Russia is also banned from EU airspace, including the private jets of oligarchs. “Pro-Kremlin” media has also been banned from entering Europe.
European countries, including Germany, are providing lethal aid to Ukraine. This includes weapons, ammunition, and fuel. EU foreign-policy chief Josep Borrell said they will now be providing fighter jets as well.
⚡️Russian oligarch Deripaska: 'We need peace."
In his Telegram channel, industrial tycoon Oleg Deripaska wrote that peace talks between Russia and Ukraine must begin “as soon as possible!”
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 27, 2022
This is a huge, huge deal. Switzerland is basically Scrooge McDuck’s coin vault for Russian state/oligarch cash. https://t.co/1oQbx8cXJx
— Scott Bixby (@scottbix) February 27, 2022
White House Reporter Scott Bixby noted that the Swiss President has said its “very probable” that Switzerland will follow Eurpean union in sanctioning Russia and freezing assets. “This is a huge, huge deal,” Bixby wrote to Twitter. “Switzerland is basically Scrooge McDuck’s coin vault for Russian state/oligarch cash.”
37 major Russian businessmen reportedly met with Putin at the Kremlin last week. Speaking on a condition of anonymity, another Moscow billionaire told Reuters that the war was going to be a catastrophe.
“It is going to be catastrophic in all senses: for the economy, for relations with the rest of the world, for the political situation,” the billionaire said.
“Businessmen understand very well the consequences. But who is asking the opinion of business about this?”
