The Bureau of Economic Security reported suspicions to the organizer of illegal gambling and five of his accomplices. According to the investigation, the network of online casinos and bookmakers operated without licenses and state control, and the total turnover amounted to about 83 million hryvnias.
The scheme was organized through peer-to-peer transfers: players sent money directly to the bank cards of the front persons. These funds were then converted into cash, cryptocurrency, or foreign currency.
Operational “offices” operated in Kyiv, Poltava, Odessa, and Kharkiv. Administrators controlled payments, used special applications to confirm transactions, kept “accounting” records, and regularly reported to supervisors.
The scheme involved technical administrators, operators, and "drops" who opened bank accounts to conceal the true volume of funds. According to BEB, the daily turnover was at least 5 million hryvnias.
Communication between the participants took place only through messengers under fictitious names. To conceal their identity, they constantly changed offices, equipment, and SIM cards.
The organizer was notified of suspicion of illegal activities in the organization of gambling (Part 2 of Article 203-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) and money laundering on a particularly large scale (Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, law enforcement officers are identifying other participants in the scheme.
