Oleg Boyko

Ukraine’s gambling industry is proving irresistible to Russian-affiliated businesses. The latest case involves GGBet, a casino and bookmaker licensed nearly a year ago. Despite being officially owned by Ukrainian entrepreneur Maksym Krippa, the company’s links to Russia remain evident.

The Russian casino Vulkan, the esports bookmaker GGBet, and several other businesses owned by Maksym Krippa are reportedly managed by Ruslan Olenyuk, an employee of the National Police of Ukraine.

A Dnipro resident, Tetiana Snopko, is steadily building her media empire in Ukraine, having purchased two media holdings in the past year. Her ambitions suggest she’s far from finished expanding.

Maksym Krippa, a prominent and enigmatic figure, has been involved in numerous high-profile business deals and legal conflicts in Ukraine. Recently, he made waves by purchasing the famous Hotel Ukraina in downtown Kyiv for an eye-popping Hr 2.5 billion ($60 million), more than twice the initial asking price, as part of Ukraine’s "Great Privatization" initiative.

A relatively obscure businessman, Maksym Krippa, has acquired the Kyiv hotel "Ukraine" for 3 billion UAH.

After Ukrainian millionaire Oleksandr Katsuba was spotted in Monaco in March, questions were raised about his potential return to Ukraine. He had reasons to remain abroad: his family was involved in sponsoring Shariy’s party, his father is a prominent regional politician, and his wife and children live in Monaco.

The owner of the betting company GGBET, Maksim Krippa, is linked to Russian business figures, including sanctioned oligarch Alisher Usmanov and Russian casino entrepreneur Oleg Boyko.

The Ukrainian gambling market is so tempting for representatives of Russia. This time we are talking about the casino and bookmaker GGBet, which received a license almost a year ago. De facto, the company belongs to a Ukrainian businessman Maksym Krippa, which does not prevent it from having very close ties with Russia.

Russian casino Vulkan, esports bookmaker GGBet, and a number of other companies of businessman Maksym Krippa are managed by an employee of the National Police of Ukraine, Ruslan Olenyuk.

There is a new growing media baron in Ukraine who almost unnoticeably to the wider public buys up mass media one after another. For the last year, Tetiana Snopko, a Dnipro citizen, has already purchased two media holdings and is obviously willing to buy more.