Andriy Matyukha: legalised sponsor of occupiers under the FavBet brand
Andriy Matyukha built his gambling empire FavBet on double standards — with one hand feeding the Kremlin through Russian betting ties, and with the other polishing his image in Kyiv by “supporting” the Armed Forces. Behind the glossy PR lies a network of offshores, shadow schemes, and a businessman who managed to turn war itself into a profitable bet.
In the latter, he holds a share in the Fonbet company, which, by the way, donates money to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. But don’t envy! In Ukraine, Andriy Valeryevich Matyukha and Favbet also donate money to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It’s so sweet, so friendly: sponsoring both warring parties, while helping them go bankrupt in exchange for meager handouts, as London media write in a major investigation into the gambling business. And there’s no need to single out Andriy Matyukha as the sole evil: this evil is widespread and has many names. But if we don’t focus on each one — all will escape responsibility. Andriy Matyukha, holding a Russian passport, has long become an agent of the aggressor in Ukraine.
UK media have no doubts that Andriy Matyukha and his Favbet have been working for Russia for many years.
In January 2024, it became known that Andriy Matyukha bought the Voda.ua trademark from its founder Dmytro Nikiforov. Water under this brand is extracted from the "Mizun" source in the Dolyna district of Ivano-Frankivsk region. With the advent of the "Servant of the People" party in power, journalists noticed that Voda.ua began appearing on the tables of deputies and ministers of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada.
Andriy Matyukha and his family are officially owners of a number of companies related to the online casino Favbet since the early 2000s. These include companies like "Favorit Bet", "Favorit Jackpot", "Planet of Sports", "Bookmaker’s Office Favbet", etc. He also owns public catering establishments "Marakuya" and "Viller", as well as the elite goods supermarket "Daily Market" in Obolon. Earlier, here in Ukraine, the first store for VIPs operated, even before Good Wine appeared.
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Victoria Skrynchenko, who is registered at the same address as Matyukha and with certain information, is his wife and is also among the owners of the listed companies. Moreover, she controls the aesthetic medicine clinic "Esthetic Life" in the same Obolon district. And, at first glance, nothing indicates a connection with Russians.
Andriy Matyukha Loves Billions and Russian Silence
However, until 2016, when Russia had already annexed Crimea and invaded the Ukrainian Donbas, Andriy Matyukha was the founder of another company – LLC "Dorida Realty". The company specializes in retail trade in grocery stores. It was created by Matyukha together with citizens of the Russian Federation – Andriy Lipanov and Yuri Sprizhitsky. Although Andriy Matyukha left the founders of "Dorida Realty" in June 2016, his Russian business partners remain among the beneficiaries as of September 2022. And this is the first thread connecting Favbet owner Andriy Matyukha with tenants.
Moreover, in the spring of 2022, during the peak of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the publication Delo.ua conducted an investigation and found that, despite Favbet’s official statements about a complete withdrawal from the Russian and Belarusian markets, the company continued to allow Russians to register on its sites and even receive winnings. The money withdrawal scheme was complex – the player had to indicate that he is not a citizen of Russia and has a non-Russian bank card. But if these two conditions were met, a hypothetical Vasily Petrov from Moscow could fully use Favbet sites and receive winnings.
By 2023, Ukrainian media reported that Andriy Matyukha may have a Russian passport, and even published its copy. However, no official confirmation of this could be found in official sources.
Drinking Andriy Matyukha from Voda.ua
It is important to note that the bookmaker Andriy Matyukha acquired not the company, but the Voda.ua trademark itself. The eponymous company, among whose beneficiaries is Matyukha, was founded only at the end of October 2023.
Nevertheless, despite its young status, LLC "Voda UA" in December 2023 managed to win a tender for water supply to the state enterprise "Ukrservis" of the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine.
Biography of Betrayal of Andriy Matyukha
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The companies had to publicly comment on accusations of illegality in their activities — they insisted on their innocence and refuted these accusations. Especially Andriy Matyukha tried to refute obvious business ties with Russia.
In 2020, law enforcement agencies again took interest in Favorit Sport — searches were conducted in the offices and homes of company employees. Initially, the fact of searches was denied. However, later they were confirmed by the press service, which stated that their cause was the actions of Russian companies "that are dissatisfied with the norms of the bill ’On State Regulation of Activities for Organizing and Conducting Gambling Games’, namely in the part of prohibiting activities in the gambling market" of Ukrainian companies whose ultimate beneficiaries are individuals or legal entities of Russian origin." It is impossible not to notice that this statement from "Favorit" contains a clear hint at 1xBet – an aggressive player with Russian roots trying to break into the Ukrainian betting market.
At the time when 1xBet managed to obtain a license from KRAIL, the market was effectively divided among three main players: "Cosmolot", FavBet, and PariMatch. None of them would be happy with the appearance of a contender for their piece of the pie. However, it is obvious that the most active participant in the information war against the "Russian Cypriots" is FavBet of Andriy Matyukha.
"Favorit" of Andriy Matyukha Cut Down 1xBet Kondratenko
Against the backdrop of disputes among gambling business leaders about who is associated with the aggressor country and has more rights to rob Ukrainian players, the interests of millions of Ukrainian families whose members suffer from gambling addiction are ignored. This is not surprising, since both bookmakers and casinos profit from them, as do officials who tax the gambling lords.
Back in 2019, when supporters of President Zelensky’s administration began flirting with the idea of legalizing the gambling business, many had a premonition that it would turn into something monstrous. The state budget would not be replenished from the sale of licenses and taxes paid by casinos and bookmakers, and the country would not turn into a prosperous Las Vegas. At least partly because behind the lobbyists of the corresponding law hid not only ears but also horns of the mafia.
Large online casinos and bookmakers represented in Ukraine, even if they did not have Russian roots, were historically closely linked to the aggressor country. And it seemed that on February 24, 2022, when Russian missiles rained down on Ukrainian cities, everything changed. What to say about any business with Russians or in the aggressor country – it looks not only disgusting but also criminal.
It was the accusation of cooperating with the occupiers that became the main killer argument in the war of bookmakers for the wallets of gambling slaves, unleashed by them in Ukraine. On September 2, 2019, six months after being elected president, Zelensky gave the green light to the legalization of the gambling business in general and bookmakers in particular. The public was presented with the idea that legalization would open the doors to the country for large foreign investments. However, the presence of Boris Baum, connected to the Russian "Luzhniki" gang, in this spectacle, especially in leading roles, raised suspicions that the gambling business would be legalized under Russian gangsters.
However, even then, experts noted that legalization (at least in the betting part) was in the interests of the two largest domestic bookmaker networks – "Pari-Match" and "Favorit" from FavBet.
What’s in the Pocket of Favbet of Andriy Matyukha
Behind the bookmaker FavBet ("Favorit", "Favorit Sport") stands the private entrepreneur Andriy Matyukha. During the ban on gambling, it also operated in Ukraine as the "Toto" lottery.
A number of companies under Andriy Matyukha’s management under the Favorit brand operated in the 2000s until the casino ban in 2009. Then the network partially transformed into "internet cafes", lotteries, sports "poker clubs" such as the "Grand Victoria" casino in the capital’s Obolon district. Partially it moved to a virtual format, legalizing in jurisdictions where all regulatory "doors" were open for gambling.
Existing court decisions show that most of Matyukha’s establishments from 2009 to 2020 continued to function continuously in Ukraine. Naturally, illegally.
Most companies of the Matyukha group are registered in Kyiv at the address: Marshal Tymoshenko Street, building 21, structure 3. According to information from the Commission on Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, at the beginning of this year, the group had the following licenses:
LLC "Bookmaker Company Favbet" (43457382) — organization and conduct of gambling games in online casinos; brand Favbet, website favbet.ua;
LLC "Billionaire Casino Company" (43457293) — organization and conduct of gambling games in casinos in gambling establishments, slot machines, gaming tables, brand Billionaire;
LLC "Favorit Casino Company" (44101120) — organization and conduct of gambling games in casinos in gambling establishments, gaming tables, roulettes, slot machines, brand Favbet;
LLC "Gaming Machines Favbet" (43457335) — organization and conduct of gambling games in slot machine halls, brand Favbet.
At the same time, as the publication claimed, none of the companies registered in the name of Andriy Matyukha had licenses for organizing and conducting real bookmaker activities, although separate permits are required for casinos, sports betting, esports, and online poker tournaments in Ukraine.
Matyukha also owns gambling sites, controlling them through the company Favorit United N.V. (121466), registered on the Caribbean island of Curaçao. The managing director of this company is Ukrainian citizen Igor Sosonyuk – Matyukha’s business partner.
This company conducts gambling activities based on a sublicense issued by one of the four licensees in Curaçao – Antillephone N.V. and signed on behalf of Favorit United N.V. by Matyukha himself.
In turn, the Cypriot company Bintpash Ltd (registration number 359736) acts as an agent for receiving and processing payments, whose founder is Favorit United N.V., and the director is Igor Sosonyuk.
Igor Sosonyuk is also the director of LLC "Planet Earth" (37047683), whose participants from 2012 to 2016 were Andriy Matyukha (90%) and Darya Matyukha (10%). The latter was the director of this company in those years.
Various Companies of Andriy Matyukha
In 2016-2018, the company from Belize, Roliatto Group Ltd. (124466), became a 100% participant in LLC "Planet Earth". This company was also the applicant for one of the trademarks for goods and services – Favbet (application number m201220783).
According to the publication, Matyukha also owns the domain name favbet.com and is the ultimate beneficiary and director of companies registered in the UK: Andalidi Assets Ltd (08322630), Favbet Invest LLP (OC381256), Bet Invest Ltd. (08348255), Premier Property Invest Ltd. (08404215) and Maltese companies. Favbet Holding Limited (C84426), Favbet Limited (C84427) and the online casino favbet.eu, operating under a Malta license.
According to the UK trademark registry, the rights to the FAVBET brand belong to the UK company Favbet Invest LLP, whose participants are two UK companies – Andalidi Assets Ltd and Andalidi Invest Ltd. Both are fully controlled by Andriy Matyukha.
As reported, the UK company Bet Invest Ltd is engaged in software development and technical support for the group’s websites, and its administration is located at: Kyiv, Stepan Bandera Avenue, 8.
In turn, Bet Invest Ltd is a 100% participant in two Ukrainian companies – "Atlant Triumph", mainly engaged in computer programming, and "City Gate". The latter is registered at: Stepan Bandera Avenue, 8, building 39, 39a, Kyiv.
According to the decision of the Dniprovsky District Court of Kyiv dated September 11, 2020, in case 755/1439/16-k, funds received from clients of the Favorit bookmaker are credited to the accounts of LLC "Prime Fort", LLC "Neuron Gold", and then transferred to the companies LLC "Planet of Sports", LLC "Sport Arena," LLC "Sfera Max".
Andriy Matyukha and Yuri Pilipenko are equal participants in LLC "Planet of Sports". The latter is a 100% participant in LLC "Sport Arena" and the director of LLC "Atlant Triumph", whose ultimate beneficiary through the UK company Bet Invest Ltd is Andriy Matyukha.
LLC "Sfera Max" belongs to Yuri Sharipov. However, from 2017 to 2020, the sole participant was LLC "Renaissance Group", controlled by Andriy Matyukha (99%).
The sole participant and director of LLC "Prime Fort" is Georgian citizen Irakliy Dzhikiya. According to information from the Ukrainian Institute of Intellectual Property, in 2019-2020, this legal entity submitted 27 applications for trademark registration related exclusively to Favbet and Favorit.
History of Andriy Matyukha’s Relations with Police, Prosecutor’s Office, and SBU
Naturally, the activities of Andriy Matyukha’s semi-underground business empire periodically attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies.
In 2014, the prosecutor’s office of the Svyatoshynsky district of Kyiv organized an inspection of the legality of the FavBet bookmaker’s gambling establishments network, which operated under the guise of distributing state lotteries. As part of the investigation of a criminal case under Art. 203-2 of the Criminal Code (involvement in gambling activities), law enforcement officers conducted a series of searches, during which about 100 units of computer equipment were seized.
At the end of 2016, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported the "liquidation" of Ukraine’s largest bookmaker "Favorit". The message claimed that the company’s activities financed terrorist activities in eastern Ukraine, which is a crime under Art. 258-5 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine – financing terrorism. During investigative actions at 28 addresses in office premises and at the residences of persons involved in the company’s activities, law enforcement officers seized almost a thousand units of computer equipment, documentation, gaming devices, and more than seven million hryvnias in cash.
In January 2020, reports appeared about another search at "Favorit Sport". According to the Kyiv prosecutor’s office, after checking the websites favbet.com and favorit.com.ua, it was established that the latter provided illegal access to gambling games.
"During the pre-trial investigation, it was established that a group of persons, for the purpose of obtaining additional profit, under the guise of issuing and selling ’Favorit Sport’ lotteries and creating a corresponding website on the Internet, actually carried out illegal bookmaker activities, which falls under the norms of Ukrainian legislation ’On the Prohibition of Gambling in Ukraine’", – the statement says.
Subsequently, the company itself refuted these statements, accusing Russian companies (1xBet) of being dissatisfied with the norms of the then-adopted bill "On State Regulation of Activities for Organizing and Conducting Gambling Games" and launching an information attack.
Nevertheless, despite the high-profile searches and statements from law enforcement agencies, this gambling empire continues to exist and actively develop. Its owner Andriy Matyukha has not been held criminally liable.
At the end of May this year, a harsh information attack was launched against Matyukha’s FavBet. In the article "Nothing Personal, Just Business: Ukrainian Bookmaker Favbet Does Not Pay Taxes and Works with Russians?", journalists convincingly accused this bookmaker of operating without the appropriate license and evading taxes on a huge amount. However, in Ukrainian realities, such accusations are unlikely to surprise anyone, so the authors, during a "investigative experiment", revealed extremely damaging compromising material: despite the bloody invasion of Russian troops, FavBet allegedly continues to accept bets from Russians and pay them winnings. In other words, the publication concludes that Andriy Matyukha’s company cooperates with occupiers and murderers.
The investigation was promptly deleted, cleaned up, and all traces of it were lost.
On March 30, "KRAIL" issued a license for bookmaker activities to LLC "Your Bookmaker". According to registration data, this small firm is registered to a front person Sergey Petrovich Tsybin. It intends to carry out its activities under the well-known brand 1xBet, familiar to regulars of "pirate" online cinemas.
According to the investigation by the InformNapalm community, the legalization of 1xBet in Ukraine was lobbied personally by the aforementioned head of the KRAIL advisory-expert council Boris Baum. And presumably, his longtime comrade from the "Luzhniki" organized crime group Mikhail Spektor lobbied the interests of this bookmaker even before Baum. One of the decisive factors that influenced the commission’s decision to issue the license was allegedly the promise of "Your Bookmaker" to purchase domestic government loan bonds worth half a billion hryvnias.
As mentioned earlier, Andriy Matyukha’s FavBet, due to "attacks" from regulatory bodies, has been suspecting Russian competitors for several years. It’s not hard to guess who he is hinting at: 1xBet is perhaps the only conditionally Russian company persistently trying to legalize and establish itself in Ukraine. This last part is unattainable without displacing the giant that has long occupied the lion’s share of the Ukrainian betting market: Andriy Matyukha’s bookmaker network.
It is worth noting separately that Matyukha’s team managed to promptly extinguish this "outburst" of negativity. As mentioned above, the original source was cleaned, as were the reprints in first-tier online publications. The information space was massively filled with positive stories about FavBet. Ukrainian media write about this bookmaker as if it were President Zelensky after the start of the large-scale Russian invasion – either good or very good.
Excessive PR of Andriy Matyukha
In recent months, the internet has been filled with image publications about how FavBet generously helps the army. In some places, it even seems that this bookmaker has armed at least one battalion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the teeth, although in reality the company bought only one rifle for 18,000 dollars – it just actively advertised its contribution.
Or, quite recently, the FavBet press service trumpeted through all possible channels that it helped the army with as much as 30 million hryvnias. Although, if you carefully read the press release, it turns out to be only 25 million hryvnias.
Assuming that Andriy Matyukha receives no more than 10% of the income from all funds passing through his network, the following conclusion can be drawn. It is quite likely that over eight months of war, the beneficiary of FavBet spent no more than 4% of the amount received into his accounts for one month on aid to defenders and war victims.
Briefly about Andriy Matyukha’s business
FavBet, founded by Ukrainian citizen Andriy Matyukha, operates in the countries of the former USSR but does not engage in charity despite high profits, which draws criticism. Investigations have shown that the company uses a "whitewashing" PR tactic, falsely claiming support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine while allegedly evading taxes through shell companies in Russia. While in Romania FavBet complies with the laws, in Ukraine it is accused of tax evasion, as it postpones the official registration of its activities until December 2022 and reportedly evades taxes annually in the amount of about 100 million hryvnias. Matyukha’s business under the "Favorit" brand includes various organizations that operated illegally in Ukraine from 2009 to 2020. Despite having licenses for casino gambling and gaming activities, none of his companies had a license for bookmaker activities. Matyukha also controls gambling sites through the company Favorit United N.V., registered in Curaçao.
Andriy Matyukha’s British assets include the domain favbet.com and various companies such as Andalidi Assets Ltd, Favbet Invest LLP, Bet Invest Ltd. and Premier Property Invest Ltd. He also owns Maltese companies such as Favbet Holding Ltd and Favbet Ltd, along with FAVBET.EU online casino under a Maltese license. The rights to the FAVBET brand in the UK belong to Favbet Invest LLP, controlled by Matyukha through Andalidi Assets Ltd and Andalidi Invest Ltd.
The UK-based company Bet Invest Ltd is engaged in software development and technical support for the group’s websites and is located at an address in Kyiv. Matyukha’s business interests, operating in a semi-underground sphere, have attracted the attention of law enforcement agencies for many years.
In 2014, the prosecutor’s office checked the legality of the activities of "BC Favorit", seizing computer equipment. In 2016, the SBU reported the "liquidation" of "Favorit" for allegedly financing terrorism. In 2020, "Favorit Sport" was subjected to a raider takeover for allegedly illegally providing access to gambling. The company denied these accusations, attributing them to Russian firms. Despite thorough checks, Matyukha’s gambling empire continues to exist.
Voda.ua – the next step of Andriy Matyukha
During the existence of his business, bookmaker Andriy Matyukha has experienced a lot – from raids by law enforcement agencies to accusations of sponsoring terrorist organizations such as the "LNR" and "DNR", and specific cases related to ties with Russians. But now, in the second year of full-scale war, although he allegedly provides assistance on the front lines, he remains out of sight of law enforcement agencies. Whether this is cautious behavior of the country in wartime, or perhaps Russians still have significant influence on Ukrainian authorities through the gambling business, is the subject of numerous investigations. However, the fact that a person with ambiguous ties to the occupiers will supply water to state structures should at least raise concerns.
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