MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (WCCO) — A Russian businessman is doing anything he can to try and end the Russian invasion of Ukraine, going as far as offering a $1 million bounty to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Alex Konanykhin, a former banker and founder of the advertising firm KMGi and TransparentBusiness, posted to both LinkedIn and Facebook with his intention of paying $1 million to officers who arrest Putin "as a war criminal under Russian and international laws."
He originally posted a picture of Putin with the words, "Wanted: Dead or alive. Vladimir Putin for mass murder," Fox reported. However, that post was removed by the platforms it was shared on. Konanykhin then reposted his bounty message with just the text, which currently has 9,600 likes, 1,500 comments, and 4,600 shares on Facebook.
"Facebook banned my post; do you think it was a correct decision? I omit the picture as it was a "dead or alive" poster, but this is the text: 'I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrest(s) Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws. Putin is not the Russian president as he came to power as the result of a special operation of blowing up apartment buildings in Russia, then violated the Constitution by eliminating free elections and murdering his opponents.,'" Konanykhin wrote.
"As an ethnic Russian and a Russia citizen, I see it as my moral duty to facilitate the denazification of Russia. I will continue my assistance to Ukraine in its heroic efforts to withstand the onslaught of Putin's Orda,."
At first, some thought that he was putting a bounty on the assassination of Putin, which he later corrected and made clear that he wants him arrested, not killed.
"Some reports suggest that I promised to pay for the assassination of Putin. It is NOT correct. While such an outcome would be cheered by millions of people around the world, I believe that Putin must be brought to justice," Konanykhin said.
Konanykhin and his wife left Russia in 1992 and was orginally granted asylum in the United States in 1999. However, his status was revoked in 2004 and eventually reinstated in 2007. He was at one point worth $300 million, according to Vice in 2014.
He spoke to PEOPLE about the risk he is taking by putting up money to have Putin arrested, but believes it will send a message to other Russians.
"I am not naive. I recognize that someone will not bring him in with a bag on his head asking for the $1 million," Konanykhin said. "But I also wanted to send a message: I am not going to be mistaken for one of those Russian who was silently complicit."
He was at one point worth $300 million, according to Vice in 2014, and added that it's worth paying more than the initial bounty offer to achieve his goal.
"I can afford many things," Konanykhin said. "One thing I want to [have] is the pleasure of giving this bounty to the person who executes that service. There is also a business element in this consideration. If this paranoid dictator starts a nuclear war, it will cost me much more than $1 million dollars."
Konanykhin also spoke to Insider and said that he hopes others will join in and contribute additional money to have Putin arrested.
"If enough other people make similar statements, it may increase the chances of Putin getting arrested and brought to justice," Konanykhin said.
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