Prosecutor's office exposed a network of illegal online casinos with a turnover of UAH 5 billion, among the organizers are citizens of the Russian Federation

The Prosecutor's Office has exposed a network of illegal online casinos, among the founders of which are two Russian citizens. The turnover of the illegal casinos amounted to UAH 5 billion. This was reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, writes UNN.

Two Russian citizens (according to UNN, these are Oleksiy Ryabov and Roman Belyalov – ed.) and the wife of one of them, a Ukrainian citizen, created a large-scale network of online gambling. They involved seven more Ukrainians in their work. Through controlled IT companies, the scheme participants ensured the operation of at least five web resources for online casinos. Some of them previously operated legally, but after their licenses were revoked, the organizers created new sites with the same names and continued their illegal business.

According to the investigation, payments were made in cryptocurrency, specifically in stablecoins (USDT). Players transferred funds to the organizers' crypto wallets. To legalize the profits, the money was first accumulated in the accounts of a company registered in Estonia, after which it was withdrawn to controlled offshore companies.

Thus, according to Prosecutor General Kravchenko, assets equivalent to over 5 billion hryvnias were laundered.

All participants in the scheme are charged with committing crimes as part of an organized group and engaging in illegal activities involving the organization and conduct of gambling (Part 3 of Article 28, Part 2 of Article 203-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Three organizers are additionally charged with legalizing proceeds from crime (Part 3 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Two Russian citizens were notified of suspicion in absentia, and the Ukrainian citizen was notified personally. The whereabouts of the other seven participants are being established. They were notified of suspicion in the manner prescribed by law through relatives.

The scheme was uncovered and documented thanks to the joint work of prosecutors from the Prosecutor General's Office, the BEB, and the SBU.

Online casinos without a license are shadow billions that bypass the state, taxes, and are often used for money laundering. Every such "game" will be ended.

Let's add

Oleksiy Ryabov and Roman Belyalov organized networks of illegal casinos in Joker and Pokerdom. The former is the owner of the IT company "Gagarin group", which ensured the operation of online casinos.

Back in 2020, LLC "Joker.Ua" was registered in Kyiv. In 2021, this company received a license to conduct online gambling under the "Joker" brand.

However, on December 13, 2022, the license was revoked. The reason was the discovery of inaccurate information in the documents for obtaining the license, as well as documentary confirmation of the control of LLC "Joker.Ua" by a resident of a state that is waging armed aggression against Ukraine.

After that, from December 13, 2022, to May 25, 2024, online casinos allegedly continued to operate without licenses. This refers to casinos under the brands "Joker", "Zaza" or "Zaza casino", "Pokerdom", "Aurora" or "Aurora casino".