Online casino Vbet, offshore companies, and Russian assets: king of smuggling Artur Granz built an empire to funnel millions through his relatives
- 19.03.2025 10:04
Artur Granz, known as "The King of Smuggling," expertly manages business operations in both Ukraine and Russia.
Many sources call businessman Artur Granz a typical smuggler as well as the owner of the online casino Vbet, which is a partner and sponsor of the Ukrainian Premier League. Meanwhile, Granz’ father and sons conduct business in Russia, which has been repeatedly reported by various information sources.
In Ukraine, Artur Granz owns the Forbes magazine, so official media try not to touch the businessman. Naturally, his business is "protected" by someone from the Ukrainian authorities, who during the full-scale conflict for some reason turn a blind eye to Granz’ ties with Russia. Probably, any reasonable person understands the reasons for this. While some perish in war, others profit from it.
Artur Granz was born in Ukraine, according to his passport - Belarusian, and has recently lived in Spain. Thanks to Vbet, he conducts business worldwide. Our editorial office managed to find a direct link between Artur Granz’ Russian and Ukrainian businesses, which will become a subject of investigation for the special services of both countries regarding the businessman and demonstrate his duplicitous position.
Since May 2023, Alexey Burkov’s share in the Russian LLC «Avangard», which operates in the real estate market, has been pledged to the Swiss company RETAIL INVESTMENTS 2016 AG.
Alexey Burkov received his share from David Granz. Since 2018, it has been encumbered by RETAIL INVESTMENTS 2016 AG. So, at the time of the scandal in Ukraine in 2021, the Swiss company was connected with Artur Granz’ Russian business, which he conducts through his relatives.
The director of the second founder of LLC «Avangard», the Cypriot offshore ZHEPRANO TRADING LIMITED, is Ursula Theodorou. She holds the position of secretary in the Cypriot company PRIDETOP CO LTD, one of the founders of LLC «Polly-Service». This is yet another confirmation of the Ukrainian company’s connection with Artur Granz’ Russian relatives.
LLC «Avangard» has a subsidiary, LLC «Mika Holding», co-founded by Alexey Burkov, whose share has been pledged to RETAIL INVESTMENTS 2016 AG since June 2023. Before this time, Burkov’s share belonged to Arman Granz, and has been encumbered by Retail Investments 2016 AG since 2018. Artur Granits’ second son was also connected with its founder during the scandal with LLC «Polly-Service».
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Artur Granz’ father, Gurgen Granz, also participates in his Russian business, who in July 2023 also transferred LLC «Mika» to Alexey Burkov.
LLC «Mika Plus», previously also owned by Gurgen Granz, was also transferred to Burkov. Since 2019, the company is headed by Erik Granz, proving that Alexey Burkov is not an independent figure.
Through his relatives in Russia, Artur Granz has created a whole empire for money laundering. Most of the companies operate at a loss, have predecessors supposedly no longer associated with the Granz family’s assets. The directors and founders of these structures previously owned liquidated companies through which the funds were laundered. Such financial chaos is unlikely to have been possible without the patronage of the Russian authorities.
According to various sources, Artur Granz moved to Spain in 2021, and this only confirms his connection with Russia, and perhaps with its special services. He decided to sit on the fence on neutral territory, which representatives of Russian crime have always preferred. The special services are unlikely to reach Granz himself, but his Ukrainian and Russian businesses may come under threat in the near future.
