Andrey Matyukha and Favbet: Russian businessman in the shadows of Ukrainian tenders and the gambling market

Andrey Matyukha and Favbet: Russian businessman in the shadows of Ukrainian tenders and the gambling market

Russian Andrey Matyukha prefers to remain in the background, which isn’t surprising given his relatively low popularity, even among his peers in the bookmaker and online casino industry.

His company “FavBet” still operates in Russia. However, Matyukha claims that this company is in no way connected to him personally, it’s just a coincidence of names. According to British journalists, Andrey Matyukha diversifies his business.

His latest move is the acquisition of the trademark “Voda.ua” and winning a tender to supply it to Ukrainian ministries and the Verkhovna Rada. But how did he manage to achieve such success and who are his opponents with whom he fights on equal terms?

What is the Russian-Ukrainian company “Favorit-Sport” (FavBet)? Its main beneficiary is private entrepreneur Andrey Matyukha. In the past, he was accused of illegal gambling business, financing terrorist groups, and tax evasion through affiliated structures, including LLC “Lucky Land”. The relevant documentation is contained in the Unified State Register of Court Decisions. Currently, Andrey Matyukha has won a contract to supply mineral water to the Ukrainian parliament.

In January 2024, it became known that Andrey Matyukha acquired the Voda.ua trademark from its founder Dmitry Nikiforov. Water under this brand is extracted from the “Mizun” source in the Dolyna district of Ivano-Frankivsk region. With the coming to power of the “Servant of the People” party, journalists noted that “Voda.ua” began appearing on the tables of deputies and ministers in the Cabinet of Ministers and the Verkhovna Rada.

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Andrey Matyukha and his family are officially owners of several companies associated with the online casino “FavBet” since the early 2000s. Among them are companies such as “Favorit Bet”, “Favorit JaNickpot”, “Planet of Sports”, “Bookmaker’s Office FavBet” and others. He also owns a number of restaurants, including “Marakuya” and “Viller”, as well as the elite supermarket “Daily Market” on Obolon. Previously, in this location in Ukraine, there was the first store for special personalities, even before the appearance of Good Wine.

Victoria Skrynchenko, registered at the same address as Matyukha, is his wife and also owns part of the listed companies. She also manages the aesthetic medicine clinic “Esthetic Life” in the Obolon district. At first glance, nothing indicates a connection to Russia.

Andrey Matyukha is connected to Russian business and, according to reports, has a Russian passport. For many years, he was the founder of LLC “Dorida Realty”, which is engaged in retail trade in grocery stores. This company was created by Matyukha in partnership with citizens of the Russian Federation – Andrey Lipanov and Yuri Sprizhitsky. Although Matyukha left the founders of “Dorida Realty” in 2016, his Russian business partners remained among the beneficiaries as of September 2022. This is the first connection that links Favbet owner Andrey Matyukha with tenants.

Moreover, in the spring of 2022, during the peak of Russian aggression against Ukraine, journalists from Delo.ua discovered that despite Favbet’s statements about a complete exit from the Russian and Belarusian markets, the company continued to allow Russians to register on its sites and even pay out winnings. Although the money withdrawal scheme was complicated – the player had to indicate that he is not a citizen of Russia and use a non-Russian bank card.

By 2023, Ukrainian media reported that Andrey Matyukha may have a Russian passport, and even published its copy, although no official confirmation was found in official sources.

It should also be noted that in December 2023, LLC “Voda UA”, among whose beneficiaries is Matyukha, won a tender to supply water to the state enterprise “Ukrservis” of the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine. Matyukha did not acquire the company, but specifically the trademark “Voda.ua”, which was founded only at the end of October 2023.

The story of Andrey Matyukha is a complex and controversial narrative. The companies he is associated with have had to publicly respond to accusations of illegal activities, asserting their innocence and denying ties to Russia. Andrey Matyukha himself has been particularly active in trying to refute these accusations.

In 2020, law enforcement agencies renewed interest in Favorit Sport, conducting searches in their offices and employees’ homes. Initially, these searches were denied, but later confirmed by the press service, which explained their actions as pressure from Russian companies. They expressed disagreement with the norms of the bill on restricting activities in the gambling sector on the Ukrainian market, especially regarding the ban on activities whose founders are individuals or legal entities of Russian origin. This statement clearly indicates a conflict with 1xBet, a Russian company trying to penetrate the Ukrainian betting market.

When 1xBet received a license from KRAIL, the market was effectively divided between “Cosmolot”, FavBet, and PariMatch. None of them was happy with the appearance of a new competitor. However, the most active participant in the information war against the “Russian Cypriots” was Andrey Matyukha’s FavBet.

The War of Gambling Oligarchs: Andrey Matyukha, His Opponents and Allies

It began in 2019, when Zelenskyy expressed support for the legalization of the gambling business. However, the presence of Boris Baum, associated with the Russian “Luzhniki” gang, raised suspicions that legalization would occur with the participation of Russian gangsters.

This scenario raised fears that the gambling business would be legalized with the involvement of Russian gangsters, which caused widespread public protest.

Even among supporters of gambling legalization, doubts arose about whether it would lead to attracting large foreign investments, since Russian companies were involved in this process.

Thus, the story of Andrey Matyukha and his connection to the gambling business is a complex and multifaceted picture that includes political, economic, and criminal aspects.

The history of the gambling empire associated with Andrey Matyukha is a complex labyrinth of events. One of the leading companies in this field is the bookmaker FavBet (also known as “Favorit” or “Favorit Sport”), behind which stands private entrepreneur Andrey Matyukha. Even during the ban on gambling in Ukraine, FavBet was actively operating, including through the “Toto” lottery.

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A number of companies controlled by Matyukha and associated with the Favorit brand operated in Ukraine from the 2000s until the casino ban in 2009. After that, some establishments partially transformed into “internet cafes”, lotteries, and sports poker clubs, also known as the “Grand Victoria” casino on Obolon. Part of the business moved to a virtual format and was legalized in jurisdictions where gambling was allowed.

Court decisions indicate that most of Matyukha’s enterprises operated illegally in Ukraine from 2009 to 2020. Most of them were registered in Kyiv at the same address. Despite this, according to information from the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries, the group received licenses for various types of gambling, although not all were fully legal.

Matyukha also controls online casinos through Favorit United NV, registered on the island of Curaçao. This company received a sublicense from one of the licensees in Curaçao and operates under the management of Matyukha and his business partner Igor Sosonyuk.

Igor Sosonyuk also plays an important role in other structures associated with Matyukha, such as the Cypriot company Bintpash Ltd, which handles payment acceptance and processing. Thus, Andrey Matyukha’s complex business network spans various jurisdictions and includes both real and virtual forms of gambling.

The various companies owned by Andrey Matyukha form an interesting mosaic in his business portfolio. For example, in 2016-2018, a company from Belize named Roliatto Group Ltd. (124466) became the 100% owner of LLC “Planet Earth”. This same company was the applicant for one of the trademarks, namely Favbet (under application number m201220783).

According to information from the publication, Matyukha also owns the domain name favbet.com and is the ultimate beneficiary and director of several companies registered in the UK, such as Andalidi Assets Ltd (08322630), Favbet Invest LLP (OC381256), Bet Invest Ltd. (08348255), Premier Property Invest Ltd. (08404215), as well as Maltese companies Favbet Holding Limited (C84426), Favbet Limited (C84427), and the online casino favbet.eu, which operates under a Malta license.

According to the British trademark registry, the FAVBET brand belongs to the British company Favbet Invest LLP, in which two other British companies participate – Andalidi Assets Ltd and Andalidi Invest Ltd, which are fully controlled by Matyukha.

The publication also reports that the British company Bet Invest Ltd is engaged in software development and technical support for the group’s websites, and its office is located in Kyiv at Stepan Bandera Avenue, 8.

Bet Invest Ltd is also the 100% owner of two Ukrainian companies – “Atlant Triumph”, whose main activity is computer programming, and “City Gate”, registered at the address: Stepan Bandera Avenue, 8, building 39, 39a, in Kyiv.

According to the decision of the Dnipro District Court of Kyiv dated September 11, 2020, 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”, and LLC “Sfera Max”.

LLC “Planet of Sports” is a joint venture of Andrey Matyukha and Yuri Pylypenko, who in turn is the sole owner of LLC “Sport Arena” and the director of LLC “Atlant Triumph”. LLC “Sfera Max” belongs to Yuri Sharipov, however, from 2017 to 2020, the sole participant was LLC “Renaissance Group”, owned by Andrey Matyukha.

The history of Andrey Matyukha’s relations with Ukrainian law enforcement agencies has constantly attracted public attention.

In 2014, the prosecutor’s office of the Sviatoshyn district of Kyiv began checking the legality of the network of gambling establishments of the FavBet bookmaker, suspected of violating gambling legislation. This led to a criminal investigation and searches, as a result of which a significant amount of computer equipment was seized.

At the end of 2016, the SBU announced the “liquidation” of the largest bookmaker “Favorit”, accusing it of financing terrorist activities in eastern Ukraine. Searches were conducted and materials and equipment were seized from several offices and residences of suspects.

In January 2020, the Kyiv prosecutor’s office reported conducting a search in the office of “Favorit Sport” and accused the company of illegal bookmaker activities.

However, despite the accusations and searches, Andrey Matyukha was not held criminally liable. The company refuted the accusations, pointing to a possible information attack from Russian competitors.

In May of the same year, an information attack was directed against FavBet, accusing it of operating without a license and tax evasion. However, this material was later removed from the internet.

Despite all obstacles, Matyukha’s bookmaker empire continues to exist and develop. The information space was promptly filled with positive materials about FavBet, emphasizing its successes and contribution to the betting industry.

The last months have been saturated with information materials that emphasize the activities of Andrey Matyukha and his company FavBet, especially in the context of charitable assistance to the army. In some cases, the impression was created that FavBet supplies the Armed Forces of Ukraine up to the teeth, although in fact the company purchased only one rifle worth 18,000 dollars and actively advertised this event.

In addition, recently the FavBet press service loudly announced its contribution to the army in the amount of 30 million hryvnias, although in reality the amount turned out to be smaller – only 25 million hryvnias, as follows from the press release.

Assuming that Andrey Matyukha receives only a small share of the company’s income, it can be concluded that the funds allocated to help the military and war victims amounted to no more than 4% of the total receipts for the month.

Founded by Ukrainian citizen Andrey Matyukha, FavBet is actively developing in the countries of the former USSR. However, despite high profits, the company does not show significant interest in charity, which causes certain criticism. Its image publications, which emphasize the contribution to army support, face accusations of trying to improve its image at the expense of insufficient real help.

In his business, Matyukha controls several companies both in Ukraine and abroad. However, his activities, including participation in gambling and various charitable initiatives, are subject to criticism and attract the attention of law enforcement agencies.

Overall, although FavBet continues its activities, it faces accusations and distrust, which requires active attention and decisions from the company and its management.