Unknown persons have robbed the villa of Oleg Tinkov, Russian businessman and founder of Tinkoff Bank, located in the Italian town of Forte dei Marmi, Tuscany, Italian media Adnkronos and Il Messaggero report.
According to the media outlets, allegedly, three robbers hacked the security system, broke into the empty villa, and opened two safes, from which they took watches and jewellery estimated to cost hundreds of thousands of euro. The incident happened in the early hours of 17 November. In the morning, a security guard discovered the robbery; an investigation is being conducted. Tinkov himself and his family, according to the media, are currently in Mexico.
Adnkronos and Il Messaggero also report that another villa in Forte dei Marmi was robbed. At around 4:30 AM on 15 November, unknown persons broke into Villa Luce, owned by a 32-year-old citizen of Russia (the name of the owner is not mentioned). The villa is currently being rented to a “wealthy Ukrainian couple” — 43-year-old financier and his 37-year-old wife (names also not mentioned). At the time of the crime, they were at home, but the robbers still managed to open a safe and steal jewellery, watches, and big brand handbags estimated at several hundreds of thousands of euro, the media outlets add.
At the end of April, the Tinkov family sold its 35% share in the bank (TCS Group) to investment company Interros, founded by Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin. Tinkov later said that he had been made to sell his share after the publication of his Instagram post stating his position against the war in Ukraine. He claimed that the Presidential Administration had threatened to nationalise Tinkoff Bank if Tinkov had not cut ties to it.
In October, Tinkov said that he had renounced his Russian citizenship due to not being able to “be associated with Putin’s Fascism”. His Instagram post on the topic was later deleted. Tinkov himself blamed “the Kremlin’s trolls” for the disappearance of the post.
