Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy bought a on line casino resort in Cyprus in Might 2024.
In early June 2024, accounts on X started sharing the declare that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy — on the top of his nation’s struggle towards Russian navy occupation — bought a resort in Cyprus named the Vuni Palace On line casino Resort and Lodge the earlier month.
The declare was first made in a since-deleted June 1, 2024, story by the Turkish information outlet OdaTV. It was then amplified, partly, by an account on X, Aussie Cossack, that describes itself as a “registered overseas agent for Sputnik Information” — a Russian state-controlled media company.
This declare was not true. OdaTV primarily based its assertion on a fake website for the Vuni Palace On line casino Resort and Lodge. This is how we all know the declare has no benefit.
The Brief Life Cycle of Lazy Propaganda
Within the June 1 story, OdaTV reported on the purported sale of the Vuni Palace to a Zelenskyy-linked offshore firm named Movie Heritage Inc. Based mostly on a video accompanying the report, this assertion stemmed from the copyright area of an internet site — casinohotelvunipalace.com — that appeared to belong to the Vuni Palace On line casino Resort and Lodge:
Movie Heritage Inc. is a Belize-based firm recognized in a 2021 investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Venture as owned by Zelenskyy and his spouse. OdaTV’s report used an internet site for the Vuni Palace with that firm in its footer as proof that Zelenskyy was utilizing the struggle towards Russia to revenue personally — a story more and more pushed by Russian propagandists (translated through Google):
Volodymyr Zelensky is accumulating support by preaching to the entire world that Ukraine wants assist towards the ‘Russian occupation’. Whereas Western international locations have been sending cash, weapons and ammunition to Ukraine as a physique, Zelensky entered the on line casino enterprise as an alternative of managing the struggle. It was discovered that an organization owned by Zelensky purchased a on line casino in Cyprus.
“Movie Heritage Inc.” He now seems to be the official proprietor of the “Vuni Palace On line casino Lodge” positioned in Kyrenia within the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
The Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, or Northern Cyprus, is a de facto state inside Cyprus acknowledged by solely Turkey. The first language within the area is Turkish. The purported website for the Vuni Palace On line casino Lodge, nevertheless, has no Turkish content material — or content material in any language apart from English.
This alleged Vuni Palace web site additionally was doubtful as a result of, because the Cyprus Investigative Reporting Community noted on X, it was registered on May 29, 2024, simply days earlier than OdaTV made the declare for which the web site served as the only proof.
The Vuni Palace On line casino Resort’s precise web site is vunipalacehotel.com. Along with having Turkish content material, this website makes no point out of Movie Heritage Inc. The precise house owners of Vuni Palace have denied that their on line casino was offered.
The Ukrainian Embassy in Cyprus rebuffed the accusation on Zelenskyy’s half in a statement, describing the assertion as Russian propaganda:
Russian propaganda spreads a faux story that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has allegedly turn out to be the proprietor of one of many largest casinos in Europe, which is positioned in Cyprus. Nonetheless, the publication gives no proof to help its declare. The data itself is fake.
The president of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, responded to the report as effectively, saying there was no proof to help the claims, as reported by In-Cyprus:
When requested concerning the allegations, Christodoulides stated: “The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus have investigated the matter. I repeat, thus far, nothing of the kind has emerged.
OdaTV seems to have deleted the unique story making the declare that Zelenksyy bought the on line casino.
The Backside Line
In sum, the declare that Zelenskyy bought a on line casino in Cyprus is belied by the truth that the house owners of that on line casino say they haven’t offered it, by the truth that the unique reporting on the declare was primarily based on a faux web site, and by the truth that this authentic reporting was deleted. As a result of no actual proof helps the declare, Snopes charges it “False.”
