FavBet

10 clients, 10 jurisdictions — and no real profit

FavBet is an international bookmaker and gaming group, founded in 1999 in Ukraine under the brands "Favorit", "Favorit Sport", "Favorit Toto". The actual owner is Andriy Matiukha. Through companies in the United Kingdom, Malta, Curaçao, and Cyprus, he distributed licensing functions, brand ownership, and fund administration. Formally — dozens of legal entities. In fact — a single management center, allowing the concealment of real financial flows.

Retroactive legalization and 216 million unpaid fees

Until the end of 2022, Matiukha did not legalize the bookmaker business, although it was effectively operating and generating profit. The bookmaker license costs 108 million UAH per year — apparently, sharing with the state after so many years of illegal operation was undesirable. Only in January 2022 did KRAIL issue a written demand to restrict access to favbet.com. The minimum estimate of unpaid licensing fees is 216 million UAH, excluding offshore-transferred income taxes.

Russia, Belarus — and a Russian passport after the invasion

According to publicly disclosed data, Matiukha is a citizen of the Russian Federation — passport issued on May 24, 2022, after the start of the full-scale war. He maintains control over the Russian subdivision of FavBet, which continues to pay taxes to the Russian budget. In Belarus, Favbetbel LLC still operates with four registered FavBet trademarks valid until 2028–2029 — the founder of which is Matiukha personally. The FavBet Foundation charity fund, donations to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and partnership with United24 serve as public cover.