Claim that President Zelenskyy bought a luxury casino resort is false
Claim based on information gathered from a false website
CLAIM
Posts claim President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine spent $200 million to buy a luxury 5-star casino resort in Cyprus during the ongoing war with Russia.
BACKGROUND
In early June 2024, accounts on X began spreading a claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy purchased the Vuni Palace Casino Resort and Hotel in Cyprus in May, amid his country’s intense battle against Russian military occupation.
The claim was first made in a now deleted story published by Turkish outlet OdaTV.
The claim was also shared by an account on X called Aussie Cossack, which has more than 50,000 followers and describes itself as a “Registered foreign agent for Sputnik News”. The post included a video claiming Zelenskyy had bought the casino via his firm Film Heritage Inc and has been seen 3.1 million times since June 3.
Another post on X racked up close to 60,000 views along with the question “Who would have guessed Zelensky (our 2nd greatest ally) would buy the largest casino in Europe, not me?”
METHOD
In order the verify the validity of the claim, we needed to find out if the Vuni Palace Hotel in Kyrenia, northern Cyprus, had recently been sold or if it still belonged to Oscar Ltd., the known owner of the resort.
An online search led us to a news article from a local outlet in Cyprus in which a spokesperson for the hotel is quoted denying that the hotel was owned by Zelenskyy and in fact still operated by Oscar Ltd.
During our search we also found a statement from the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus from June 4, in which the embassy also denied the claims.
“Russian propaganda spreads a fake story that the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has allegedly become the owner of one of the largest casinos in Europe, which is located in Cyprus. In reality, this fake information is yet another lie aimed at discrediting Ukraine and its leadership in the eyes of the world community. The mentioned fake story claims that the company which acquired the Vuni Palace Hotel and Casino, located in Kyrenia, Cyprus, supposedly belongs to Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, the publication provides no evidence to support its claim. The information itself is false. Its dissemination is also intended to create diplomatic tensions between Ukraine and Cyprus,” the statement read.
The now deleted article first claiming the casino was being operated by Film Heritage Inc – a company linked to Zelenskyy – was based off information from a website which appeared to belong to the Vuni Palace Casino Resort and Hotel, on which Film Heritage Inc was listed in the copyright field – suggesting ownership.
There were several suspicious elements to the website that lead us to believe the website may not be genuine. Firstly, no other language was available on the website other than English. Secondly, investigative work by the local Cyprus Investigative Reporting Network revealed that the website had been registered on May 29, just days before OdaTV made the claim – for which the copyright claim on the website was the only evidence.
Furthermore, a search revealed that the Vuni Palace Hotel website was actually found at this address.
RATING
The claim that Zelenskyy purchased a luxury resort in Cyprus during the ongoing war with Russia is false. This claim, first made by OdaTV and later shared online, was based on information gathered from a false website. Furthermore the owners of the hotel denied that it had been sold in comments to local media.
SOURCES
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS: Zelensky spent $200 MILLION… [Accessed 14 Jun. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: There is currently some disinformation circulating [Accessed 14 Jun. 2024].
X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Who would have guessed Zelenskyy…[Accessed 14 Jun. 2024].
Cyprus Mail (2024) Hotel in north denies being owned by Zelenskiy [Accessed 14 Jun. 2024].
Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus Statement of the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus Accessed 14 Jun. 2024].
https://casinohotelvunipalace.com
Odatv.com Look at the Ukrainian War this way… Zelenski is gambling… But in real terms [Web.archive]