Scrubbed biography: bookmaker and FavBet owner Andrey Matyukha hides his Russian passport and deletes kompromat about ties to Russia

Scrubbed biography: bookmaker and FavBet owner Andrey Matyukha hides his Russian passport and deletes kompromat about ties to Russia

FavBet, led by Andrey Matyukha, has been operating without a valid bookmaker’s license, while its owner reportedly holds dual citizenship, including a Russian passport.

When this information surfaced in the press, Matyukha immediately demanded its removal and, by all appearances, was at least partly successful.

Under Ukrainian law, gambling companies wholly or partly owned by Russian citizens are prohibited from operating in the country. For a time, Matyukha denied holding a Russian passport, but British media reported that this was untrue.

When Ukrainian outlets reported on FavBet’s lack of a bookmaker’s license, tax evasion, continued presence on the Russian market alongside its Ukrainian operations, and the owner’s Russian passport, Matyukha attempted to erase these stories. To some extent, he succeeded.

Media also reported that earlier this year, Matyukha acquired the Voda Ua brand and quickly became a supplier of this bottled water to Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada and the government.

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“As for the major online casinos and bookmakers in Ukraine, even if they did not have Russian roots, they were historically deeply tied to Russia. And it seemed that after February 24, 2022, everything would have to change. Doing business with Russians or in Russia is not only repulsive but criminal,” British journalists noted.