The Real Biography of Maksym Kryppa. Part One: The Phantom Degree

Maksym Kryppa is a Ukrainian entrepreneur residing in Spain who, in recent years, has actively acquired strategic real estate assets across Ukraine — from hotels and resorts to exhibition centers. His name is increasingly mentioned in government reports, analyst briefings, and at closed-door meetings of the business elite.

But whenever the media attempts to uncover facts — everything vanishes under a flood of disinformation. Online, he simultaneously appears as a volcanologist, a football official, a philanthropist, a software developer, and even a hotel owner on Mount Vesuvius — a wild mix of SEO-driven legends designed to mask the real story.

At Capital, we encountered a classic case of modern digital pressure. Shortly after publishing an investigation into Kryppa’s SEO manipulations, our site came under a DDoS attack. Simultaneously, older articles began appearing in search results surrounded by SEO spam — fake stories about volcanoes, hotels, and charity work.

In this environment, finding verifiable information about him is nearly impossible.

We decided to start with the basics: documents and public declarations for which Kryppa bears legal responsibility. Only two exist — the autobiography he submitted to Ukraine’s Central Election Commission in 2015 during his bid for Kyiv City Council, and a lengthy interview with Forbes in December 2024. That’s where our search began.

The first block concerns the time period Kryppa himself claims shaped him into a “self-made technocrat” and “a new type of public figure”: 1994 to 1998 — when he allegedly earned a university degree, made his first million, and built political connections. At the center of this version lies a key question: how did businessman and self-proclaimed volcanologist Maksym Kryppa get his first higher education?

“The Christian University already had the Bologna system back then. Each student had to complete, if I recall, 48 subjects to get a bachelor’s degree. You could choose which subjects to take each semester,” Kryppa said in the Forbes interview.

This claim raised immediate questions. In open discussions, alumni from the 1990s were puzzled. There was no Bologna system in Ukraine at the time. And they’re right.

Inconsistency #1: The Bologna System

Ukraine officially joined the Bologna Process in 2005 — over a decade after Kryppa’s claimed graduation. Before that, no educational institution, even state-run, could legally implement the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), elective courses, or the bachelor-master cycle.

In 1994–1998 — the years Kryppa claims to have studied at the International Christian University, graduating in 1998 — the Bologna system did not exist in Ukraine, not even theoretically. This is confirmed by the official position of Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science.

We tracked down several individuals who studied at the International Christian University during that period. All of them described a standard, classical education system — with no trace of Bologna-style reforms. Another detail stood out: none of them, including those who graduated in 1998, remembered Kryppa at all. That’s odd, considering that in the Forbes interview Kryppa claimed he made his first million dollars in 1997 — a year before finishing university. At a business-oriented school, such a student would have been a star.

Inconsistency #2: The Degree from the International Christian University

Kryppa is not only absent from the memories of former students — the Ministry of Education also has no record of his enrollment. In its official response, the Ministry stated clearly: it holds no data confirming that Kryppa ever studied at that university.

And the institution itself has disappeared. The International Christian University was shut down following the 2013 bankruptcy of its Austrian founder. No archives remain. KNEU (Kyiv National Economic University), which once hosted some of its classes, told us they never received any records. The State Archive of Kyiv gave a direct answer:

“Documents from the ‘International Christian University (Kyiv)’ were never submitted for preservation. We have no information about their location.”

Yet in his Forbes interview, Kryppa claimed to hold three higher education degrees. The second institution on his list: the Private Higher Education Institution “European University.”

We submitted an official request asking the university to confirm his enrollment and provide documentation of his prior degree. The university responded:

“Maksym Volodymyrovych Kryppa was admitted to ‘European University’ on August 30, 2007, based on Bachelor’s Diploma No. 01054 dated June 27, 1998, issued by the International Christian University. We also note that the series and registration number of the mentioned diploma are not present in our institutional records.”

This phrasing has legal significance: the diploma presented during admission cannot be verified and is not officially recorded. That may indicate the use of a knowingly invalid document.

A Complete Lack of Registration

In summary: Diploma No. 01054 has no verifiable record — not with the alleged issuer, not in state databases. The issuing university left no archives — neither retained by the institution, nor transferred to the Ministry or to the State Archive. That “diploma” was then used to enroll in a second university — which now reports that it cannot confirm the document’s authenticity.

Legal Consequences — and Kryppa’s Silence

The “phantom diploma” could have serious legal consequences.

Using a forged educational document is not just unethical. Under Ukrainian law, it constitutes a criminal offense — Article 358 of the Criminal Code — “forgery of documents,” punishable by fine or restriction of liberty.

But more importantly, this story has international implications. Public records indicate that Kryppa is now a legal resident of Spain. In Spain, using falsified education credentials — particularly in the context of public or business activity — may trigger further proceedings. These can include audits of tax declarations, immigration paperwork, or eligibility for investment residency and business accreditation.

We sent official inquiries to all legal entities where Kryppa is listed as a founder or shareholder. No response was received.

The silence speaks volumes. And it is, at the same time, deeply telling.

Not Just a Diploma — But a Fake Foundation of Legitimacy

The story of Maksym Kryppa’s “phantom diploma” isn’t merely a curiosity from his past — it’s a signal. A signal of the method by which one builds a personal brand designed to influence strategic sectors of a country.

Education, in this case, is not just a detail. It is a carefully placed brick in a facade of legitimacy. A brick that makes it possible to: enter politics (as Kryppa did in 2015, running for Kyiv City Council under “Samopomich”); present oneself to Western partners as a European investor; secure involvement in major reconstruction projects and government-linked deals; and craft the public image of an independent entrepreneur — from business panels to media influence.

All of it rests on a personal history that cannot be independently verified.

This is not an abstract issue. Today, Kryppa is acquiring major infrastructure assets — including Kyiv’s International Exhibition Center — while positioning himself as a respectable figure in European business.

But if the foundation of that public legitimacy is a falsified diploma, then we are no longer talking about a harmless embellishment. We are talking about risks: to national security; to the transparency of investment processes; to Ukraine’s reputation as a credible international partner.

Responsibility for verifying such fabrications should not fall solely on journalists. It is time for formal legal scrutiny of the facts that Kryppa himself has submitted to society.

And while the diploma may seem like just one piece in the grand architecture of a manufactured biography — it opens the curtain. Because in its light, another of Kryppa’s tales — how he allegedly earned his first million dollars back in 1997 — starts to look even more grotesque.

Coming next: Maksym Kryppa and the Legend of His First Million.

By Oleksandr Bondarenko