Ukrainian investigative journalists have claimed that the owners of the operator of a planned new casino in central Kyiv have links to Russian intelligence services.
In an exposé article from Telegraf, also reported by outlets like RBC-Ukraine, journalists explained that the Bulgarian owner of the company, Georgi Papazki, and his associate, the businessman Mikhail Sevdiev, have recently registered two gambling-related companies at the hotel.
Both men, the outlets claimed, have ties to a Bulgarian firm involved in the development of gambling software, named Pate Play.
The authors of the article note that Papazki is “one of the most influential gambling operators in Bulgaria.”
He is also linked to the controversial gambling tycoon and politician Vasil Bozhkov. The United States has accused Bozhkov of attempting to “create channels of Russian influence” in the Bulgarian government.
Bozhkov has faced scrutiny in his home country over alleged links to the late Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin. The former was placed under house arrest in 2024 after returning to the nation after several years on the run.
Yevgeny Prigozhin speaking in a social media video shortly before his death in 2023.
The media outlets also suggested they have seen evidence that Papazki “may be involved in laundering funds of Russian origin through gambling businesses.”
The Premier Palace Hotel itself also remains in the spotlight. The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine has launched a legal case aimed at confiscating the hotel. The ministry states that the hotel has been registered under the name of a Slovak citizen residing in France.
The Premier Palace Hotel in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Image: Premier Palace/Facebook)
Investigators claim that numerous other assets, all belonging to Russian nationals, have also been transferred to the same person.
The ministry claims that the hotel is actually “an asset” that belongs to three sanctioned Russian businessmen, namely: Alexander Babakov, Yevgeny Giner, and Mikhail Voevodin.
Ukraine is currently revamping its gambling industry regulations. Kyiv has launched a new agency that will be charged with issuing operating licenses.
As such, all license issuances have been temporarily suspended. This has not put Papazki and Sevdiev off “actively trying to obtain” a permit for their casino businesses, the media outlets wrote.
In February, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation announced the detention of the director of the online casino platform Pin-Up.
The director, who was unnamed in the bureau’s press release, was accused of “aiding and abetting” the Russian state.
The bureau said an investigation into Pin-Up found that the platform’s “real owners” were “Russian citizens.”
It stated that the owners “collected personal data and information” about Pin-Up users, including members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
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