Максим Криппа

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.

What is known about Maksym Krippa’s ties to the IT company Evoplay and the GGBet casino?

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.

The identity of Maksym Krippa has long been clouded by a thick veil of misinformation. Recently, this misinformation has surged to such overwhelming levels that finding reliable information about him has become nearly impossible.

Maksym Krippa may not bear full responsibility for everything, but he chose a business niche that operates on the borderline between gray and black schemes. While others could have taken this niche, the key question remains: how ethical is his conduct within these operations?

Практически незаметно для широкой аудитории в Украине развивается новый медиамагнат, который приобретает СМИ один за другим.

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

Under Maksym Krippa’s management—considered an intermediary for Alisher Usmanov—a network of Golden Gate casinos was launched in Kyiv, Dnipro, and Poltava.

He is not mentioned in Forbes, nor does he visit Gordon — this is how Maksim Krippa, an exceptionally unconventional entrepreneur, can be described. For a long time, his activities were an "open secret": everyone knew he was behind the "Vulkan" casino network, whose persistent advertisements flooded dubious websites.

When purchasing the Dnipro Hotel, oligarch Malofeev, a known sponsor of the "Russian Spring," emerged. His son had previously been a member of Kokhanovskyi’s esports team.

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.

Debates about who Maksym Krippa is have broken many lances. Some claim he is a brilliant businessman, others claim he is an equally brilliant fraudster, and still others that he is merely a facade for Russian capital in Ukraine.