How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
The fact that the Ukrainian betting company Favbet, also operating under the brand Favorit, continues to serve citizens of these countries, accept bets, and pay out winnings, despite the war between Russia and Ukraine and its official statement about ceasing operations with Russia and Belarus, has been reported not only by investigative and scandal-focused websites but even by the reputable UNIAN.
These reports state that LLC "Bookmaker Company Favbet" - under this name Favbet is registered in Ukraine - continues to operate in the Russian and Belarusian online gaming markets, despite having stated a month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of our country that it was leaving these markets.
Indeed, although it took a whole month for such a statement, in March Favbet did declare that it was ceasing its operations in Belarus and Russia. However, this does not correspond to reality and is pure deception.
Journalists present communication with Favbet’s support service, where they introduced themselves as Russian citizens and asked for help with registration for gaming and withdrawing funds. The support service promptly explained how to do all this.
To understand that the journalists who told about this scheme are not lying and have not made anything up, it is enough to spend a few minutes online and have the ability to connect through a VPN, since we are in Ukraine. So, we type "Favbet Russia" in the search engine:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
The very first page of results provides us with a mass of links to Russian resources. And to not waste time, let’s do the same with Belarus:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
Clicking on the very first link. The result is somewhat predictable:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
As is with the second:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
We won’t tire the reader - all the links provided by the search engine explain how exactly to play in Russia at the Favbet bookmaker. And how to withdraw won funds, if there are any.
Currency - choice: dollar, euro, ruble. Withdrawal method - also: Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa Qiwi Wallet, Yandex.Money, "Unified Wallet", Scrill, and AdvCash.
Regarding the ban on bookmaker operations in Russia, or rather the way to circumvent it, the solution is very simple:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
Just find a "mirror site". There are plenty of them:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
Moreover, the operation of Favbet in Russia is hindered not because the bookmaker company itself did this, but due to Roskomnadzor’s ban - in the Russian Federation such business (not only Favbet but in general) is prohibited.
However, this has not stopped anyone, neither before February 24 nor after - ways to circumvent the ban by Russian authorities were always found.
By the way, returning to Belarus, from where Favbet supposedly also withdrew - it’s even simpler there because there is no ban on betting activities in Belarus and particularly for Favbet. Play as much as you want:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
And a bit of statistics - the Favbet company, known in Ukraine under the brand Favorit since 1999, operates in our country as a lottery.
The only licenses obtained by Favbet after the legalization of gambling in Ukraine are an online casino license, which costs just 23 million UAH, and licenses for running the "Billionaire" casino and slot machines, which cost much less than the license for bookmaker activities, which is Favbet’s main area.
Regarding the license for bookmaker activities, the betting company does not have one. The reason is simple - the license costs 108 million UAH per year. Nonetheless, the company still conducts betting activities.
Favbet has significant experience in "negotiating" with any authority - in 2013, hackers from the international group Anonymous hacked the email accounts of deputies from the Party of Regions and published many of their discovered emails. Among them was a letter from Andriy Matyukha from the address [email protected], in which he appealed to the "regionals" with complaints that his betting company had to operate illegally and face constant "raids" by law enforcement, thus proposing "cooperation" with the authorities:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
Andriy Matyukha is the sole beneficiary of LLC "Bookmaker Company Favbet":
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
This "experience" explains why the betting company does not have a license for actual bookmaker activities. Yet, it successfully carries out this activity - just visit its official website to be convinced.
However, there was a "raid" on Favorit: on May 5, 2021, the police initiated criminal proceedings against the illegal activities of Favbet and Favorit. Within this case, National Police of Ukraine investigators even conducted searches in the company’s offices in Kyiv, after which they stated that Favbet and Favorit illegally acquire super-profits from betting activities, the income from which is accumulated through a number of foreign firms, with Andriy Matyukha being the ultimate beneficiary.
However, the outcome was somewhat predictable - try following the link provided a few lines above. The material that described these criminal proceedings has long been removed.
In response, the Favbet Group of Companies denies the existence of claims by law enforcement and any illegal activities by Favbet and Favorit. “No official or founder of the legal entities mentioned in the article has been charged in any criminal case. Currently, there are no criminal proceedings against the group of companies,” said in a letter with the company’s official position.
This provides ample food for thought with a definite conclusion.
And a bit more history:
How Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet offshore accounts under help finance Russian aggression
It’s certainly nice that the company is praised. However, pay attention to the dates and places from which the reviews came. These are Russia and Donetsk, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. However, the fact of occupation and the war, which did not begin on February 24, 2022, but earlier in 2014, in no way hindered Andriy Matyukha’s Favbet from successfully operating in the territories of ORDLO and Russia.
Of course, it is possible (and it is assumed the Favbet press service will do this shortly) to declare that in this way Favbet was fighting against Putin’s regime, withdrawing money from there, but here’s the nuance. The money was indeed withdrawn from Russia and occupied territories, accumulating in offshore accounts - besides Ukrainian registration, Favbet also has registration in the offshore jurisdiction of Curaçao - but what about the payment of winnings, which were regularly and fully received by players in Russia, Belarus, and ORDLO?
There is yet another nuance. Who truly believes that in Russia one can earn millions so easily, hiding behind all these "mirrors" and "Curaçao jurisdictions"? There, the extortion system from businesses (both legal and illegal) is so strictly established that every shawarma stand fears missing a payment for even a single day.
Especially illegals, and even more so, betting companies, are paying millions. Not in hryvnias, like in the Ukrainian treasury, but in dollars. And monthly. Where and how these payments are then distributed is anyone’s guess. Some ends up in the pockets of Russian enforcers. And some is converted into tanks and shells, leveling with the ground the country of Favbet’s registration - Ukraine. How much money Favbet has brought to Russia and where it has gone over the years of its operation in this country is only left to speculation. Helping to "correctly" distribute them were fugitives from the "Party of Regions", with whom Favbet’s owner, Matyukha, is so friendly, and who play a significant role in Russia’s war against our country since 2014.
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