Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
A Bulgarian connected to sanctioned Russians wants to expand a gambling business in Ukraine
The five-star Premier Palace hotel in central Kyiv, where Bulgarian Georgi Papazki tried to open a casino with Russian money, was linked to the VS Energy group of companies. Ukrainian law enforcement believed that behind the complex ownership structure were Russians from the so-called Luzhniki group. In 2022 year Premier Palace, along with other hotels in the group, was seized.
In subsequent years Papazki tried several times to resume casino operations, attracting journalists’ attention. It turned out that the Bulgarian has close ties to another well-known Bulgarian gambling businessman, Vasil Bozhkov, who is under U.S. sanctions and has correspondence with the leader of the Russian PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Despite unsuccessful attempts, Papazki did not leave the Ukrainian gambling business and registered a new gaming company, Betvam Ukraine, with authorized capital of 30,5 million UAH.