Tinkov will pay $506 million fine to settle claims in the US

Oleg Tinkov pleaded guilty to a tax offense in the United States, answering the judge's question "guilty", The Bell correspondent reports, who follows the broadcast of the Northern California court session on zoom. An admission of guilt is a prerequisite for a deal with the Ministry of Justice.

According to the settlement agreement with the department, Tinkov will have to pay $ 506 million. The agreement still has to be approved by the court, it will make its decision on October 29.

Tinkov's lawyer Christopher Morvillo said at the end of the meeting that the businessman was ready to pay the compensation provided by the court. A representative of Tinkov told RBC that the businessman does not plan to reduce the stake in TCS Group to pay a fine. “Oleg has enough funds to pay the fine in full now without having to sell his TCS shares,” he stressed.

Later, the Ministry of Justice clarified the terms of the agreement with Tinkov. If the court approves it, the businessman will not face imprisonment: he will be credited for the time spent in London, when restrictions on movement were imposed on him. However, Tinkov will spend a year under supervision and will have to pay an additional $250,000 fine.

• The fact that the businessman reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice became known on September 18. At the first court session, which took place the day before, on September 30, Tinkov refused to plead guilty.

• The claims against Tinkov became known in March 2020. According to the US Department of Justice, when he renounced American citizenship in 2013, he hid $ 1 billion in income and assets from the American authorities and did not pay taxes. He faced up to six years in prison.

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The year 2020 was full of dramatic events for Tinkov: in addition to persecution in the United States, an illness, a failed sale of the business to Yandex, which could have become the deal of the year in Russia, and for Tinkov, the largest in his entire career. The Bell wrote about how he became a hostage of American justice, tried to sell a business and rethought the entrepreneurial experience.