KEY POINTS

  • Konanykhin voiced his support for Ukraine amid the ongoing invasion
  • The finance mogul accused Putin of blowing up an apartment building in Moscow in 1999
  • The Russian CEO fled the country after an alleged kidnapping attempt by ex-KGB agents

A Russian millionaire CEO on Monday announced he was offering $1 million for the capture of Russian President Vladimir Putin, labeling him a war criminal under international laws.

In a post on his personal Facebook account, finance and construction mogul Alex Konanykhin said he would pay $1 million to any officer or officers who successfully arrest Putin following his invasion of Ukraine.

“I promise to pay $1,000,000 to the officer(s) who, complying with their constitutional duty, arrests Putin as a war criminal under Russian and international laws,” he wrote on the post.

“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.”

See posts, photos and more on Facebook.

In his post, Konanykhin also dismissed Putin as the Russian leader, claiming he only won the seat after "murdering his opponents" and blowing up an apartment building in Moscow.

The finance mogul was referring to the devastating explosion of a nine-story apartment building in Guryanov Street on Sept. 9, 1999. The blast killed 40 people and injured 152 others. The explosion also threw debris more than 300 feet from the site.

Putin, who was serving as prime minister at the time, promised to find out who was behind the blast, causing his poll ratings to rise. In an article written by Yury Fedorov for the RFE/RL, he claimed Putin would not have stood a chance at winning the presidency had it not been for the explosion.

However, officials have yet to find evidence as to who planned the attack. An anonymous caller who contacted Russian news agency Interfax later claimed the bombing was in retaliation for Russia’s attack of villages in Chechnya, according to The Washington Post.

Konanykhin was one of the wealthiest oligarchs in Russia before he fled the country in 1992 following a kidnapping attempt by rogue ex-KGB agents who allegedly wanted to steal his business. He moved to the United States where he now heads several corporations, including KMGi Group. He has also been a vocal critic of Russian corruption.

Putin does not actually do taekwondo, but is instead accomplished in judo
Putin does not actually do taekwondo, but is instead accomplished in judo SPUTNIK via AFP / Mikhail KLIMENTYEV