Russian billionaire Tinkov agrees to pay $506 million to settle tax case dodging case in US

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Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov has agreed to pay $500 million to settle US charges of tax evasion, the US Justice Department said on Friday.</p>
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The banking tycoon will pay the back taxes and fine after pleading guilty on October 1 to felony charges of concealing more than $1 billion in assets to avoid paying taxes on them as he gave up his US citizenship in 2013.</p>
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According to Forbes, his Tinkov’s net worth $7.7 billion.</p>
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He is the founder of Tinkoff Credit Services, which became the popular online Tinkoff Bank, and owner of the professional Tinkoff Cycling Team.</p>
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The Justice Department said that the Russian-born Tinkov, 53, became a US citizen in 1996.</p>
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In 2013 he took Tinkoff Credit public on the London Stock Exchange, valuing his holding in it at more than $1.1 billion. Three days after the IPO, he sought to renounce his US citizenship at the US embassy in Moscow.</p>
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The citizenship renunciation process required him to declare his entire wealth and pay tax. However, Tinkov submitted documents saying he only had $300,000 in assets and concealed information on the rest to dodge taxes.</p>
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In a 2019 indictment the US Treasury said he owed around $249 million on his earnings.</p>
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In the settlement announced Friday, he had to pay more than double the amount to cover the interest and penalties on the original sum.</p>
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The Justice Department had sought his extradition from Britain last year to face the charges.</p>
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But Tinkov contested that on the grounds that he was undergoing treatment for acute myeloid leukemia as a result of which he was unable to travel.</p>