Botafogo, a traditional club that spent much of 2023 atop the Brazilian football league table, signed a two-year deal with Cyprus-based Ukrainian betting firm Parimatch a year ago.
But the ink was barely dry on the largest sponsorship deal in the Rio de Janeiro-based club’s 128-year history when the gambling company was targeted by Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky two months later. Just more than a year after Russia invaded the country, Ukraine closed down 287 companies mostly involved in the gambling industry.
Although he did not offer any evidence or detail, Mr. Zelensky accused Parimatch and others of profiteering from the war.
Parimatch denies the allegations, insisting it closed down all its operations in Russia after the invasion and says it has donated more than USD 1 million to the Ukrainian war effort. A petition to have the 50-year sanctions lifted gathered 25,000 signatures in a few days.
But the company’s former chief executive, Sergey...
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