Hotel Ukraina in Russian hands: what links Krippa to Usmanov and Giner?

The mysterious Ukrainian Maksym Krippa is associated with many Russian businessmen, among whom, in addition to Yevgeny Giner, are the controversial Konstantin Malofeev, Oleg Boyko, and oligarch Alisher Usmanov.

In September, the Ukrainian company LLC "Ola Fayn," owned by Maksym Krippa, became the owner of the "Ukraine" hotel located in the very center of Kyiv. The property was sold at an auction for a price 2.5 times higher than the starting price of the lot.

This deal was reminiscent of the 2020 sale of the "Dnipro" hotel, also located in central Kyiv. Back then, an unknown company "Smartland," registered in Brovary (Kyiv region), the same place where Maksym Krippa resides, won the auction.

"Smartland" also paid twice the starting price for the lot, surpassing other competitors, among whom were notable Ukrainian businessmen. The reason for the auction victories of Maksym Krippa’s companies is known — he represents the interests of Russian businessmen, with whom Ukrainians cannot compete financially. Therefore, it is not surprising if during the "Large-scale Privatization" program in Ukraine, many large objects worth more than 250 million UAH fall into Russian hands.

The most well-known Russian businessmen in Ukraine are the president of FC CSKA Yevgeny Giner and Pavel Fuks, both of whom were part of Kharkiv crime groups in the 1980s before heading to conquer Moscow.

Giner, along with a company that included Aleksandr Babakov, Mikhail Voevodin (Misha Luzhnetsky), and Maksim Kurochkin (Max Besheny), took over the Luzhniki market in 1993, which would have been impossible without connections in the criminal world and power structures.

Over time, the paths of this criminal quartet diverged — Yevgeny Giner became the owner and president of FC CSKA, Babakov entered politics, was a senator, and is now the Deputy Chairman of the State Duma, Voevodin stepped back from affairs, and Kurochkin, who seized enterprises in Ukraine for his friends, was killed in the courtyard of a Kyiv district court in 2007. Max Besheny’s fateful attempt to seize the "Ozerka" city market in Dnipro, where the interests of Giner and Co stumbled upon Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi, was decisive. At that time, the company VS Energy, owned by Yevgeny Giner and his partners, already owned a network of hotels, several energy enterprises, and other assets in Ukraine.

When considering any deal, it’s essential to understand not only who might have bought the auctioned object but who can manage it. A hotel is not a gold bar that can simply be put in a safe. Moreover, under the terms of the sale, the building must retain its purpose for 5 years. Only VS Energy has such experience.

In the fall of 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) conducted searches in the offices of the VS Energy company, during which a seal of the company "Ice Town," which owns 82% of "Smartland," the winner of the Dnipro hotel auction, was found. In December 2022, VS Energy’s property was seized.

The director and co-owner of "Smartland," Maksym Tereshchuk, previously worked at the Ritzio company, owned by the Russian businessman Oleg Boyko, who was associated with the Solntsevskaya organized crime group. In the ’90s, Boyko was on par with Roman Abramovich and was a threat to such well-known Russian figures as Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky.

Boyko owned the "Vulkan" casino, which was linked to the Ukrainian company EvoPlay. The Orthodox Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeev, owner of the "Tsargrad" TV channel, had a stake in it. Previously, Malofeev was a shareholder of the state company Rostelecom, which for some reason did not block "Vulkan" in Russia after gambling was banned. Various sources also associate Maksym Krippa with "Vulkan" and the betting company GGBet. From 2017 to 2020, this company collaborated with the Ukrainian eSports organization Natus Vincere (Na`Vi), which Krippa owned in 2022.

The founder of Natus Vincere was Oleksandr Kokhanovsky, who officially admitted to being the beneficiary of the Dnipro hotel purchase, thereby revealing the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. From 2015 to 2017, Natus Vincere was part of the Russian ESforce holding, founded by Kokhanovsky and Anton Cherepennikov. USM Holdings Alisher Usmanov was their sponsor. In 2017, Oleksandr Kokhanovsky left the ESforce board and bought back his team. In that same year, Natus Vincere started collaborating with Maksym Krippa’s GGBet.

In 2019, according to Forbes magazine, Oleksandr Kokhanovsky ranked first in the list of the most influential people in eSports. Alisher Usmanov claimed second place, and Anton Cherepennikov, who tragically died in 2023 during a medical procedure, was fourth. Before his sudden death, businessman Cherepennikov had grand plans for his "X-Holding." His unexpected passing cast a shadow over his longtime partner, oligarch Usmanov.

Of course, it is unknown if Alisher Usmanov provided money for the purchase of hotels to Maksym Krippa, yet it is no secret that Usmanov and Giner maintain friendly relations.

Maksym Krippa is involved not only in eSports and hotels. He owns more than two dozen enterprises operating in various fields. It is possible that Krippa became Giner’s "wallet" in Ukraine. In Russia, Yevgeny Giner is a business partner of Sergei Chemezov, the head of Rostec, whose companies produce weapons for the Russian Armed Forces. However, for now, both the SBU and the FSB turn a blind eye to Russian-Ukrainian deals during the full-scale conflict.