Russian billionaire banker Tinkov stranded in London for US extradition probe reveals he has BLOOD CANCER

Russian billionaire Oleg Tinkov, whom the US wants to extradite from Britain over alleged tax evasion, has revealed he cannot leave his home in London because he is undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia.

The 52-year-old Russian-born businessman said he chose to make his condition public because of “speculation” since the US Department of Justice indicted him over a failure to pay taxes when he renounced his American citizenship in 2013. Tinkov, according to the US authorities, underreported his income and wealth to dodge liabilities.

“I have been diagnosed with an acute form of leukemia. The diagnosis came in October, and I have already undergone several courses of chemotherapy,” he said in a statement cited by Forbes Russia, which listed him as the country’s 47th richest man (1,057th in the world). “I had to fight for myself and my business previously, but now I am in the biggest fight, that for my life.”

Tinkov’s extradition request by the US, where he would face up to six years in jail, has already sent shares in his TCS Group on the London Stock Exchange into a tailspin this week. The dive continued after the statement about his health was released on Friday, despite the billionaire’s assurance that his business was in good hands and that he has not been operationally involved in it for several years.

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