A Russian businessman has made headlines for offering $1 million to anyone who can arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin. He considered Putin guilty of war crimes related to the invasion of Ukraine.
"I promise to pay USD 1 million to those who, in accordance with his constitutional duty, arrest Putin as a war criminal under international and Russian law," Alex Konanykhin posted on social media.
Even earlier, he wrote that Putin could be arrested alive and dead. But then the post was deleted by Facebook and he stated that was not the intention.
"Although such a thing would be welcomed by millions of people around the world, I believe Putin should be brought to justice," he wrote later, as quoted by the New York Post, Friday (4/3/2022).
Alex is a Russian national, but lives in California, United States. He defected from Russia and was a fugitive. In the US, Alex got political asylum and then ran his business there.
He founded various businesses such as the online marketplace Syndicate News. His company, KMGI, once created WikiExperts.US which writes articles on Wikipedia for the company. Then there is TransparentBusiness, software that can monitor employees.
Alex is also known as a technology company investor with a billion dollar value. He is known to frequently criticize Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Putin is not the president of Russia because he came to power with an operation that (among other things) blew up apartments in Russia, then violated the constitution by abolishing free elections and killing his opponents," Alex claims.
"As an ethnic and resident of Russia, it is my moral duty to support the de-nazification of Russia. I will continue to assist Ukraine in its heroic efforts to survive," he added.
Alex said he offered the money as proof that the war with Ukraine was not supported by many Russians. "If enough people make the same statement, it might increase the chances of Vladimir Putin being arrested and brought to justice."