Russians are suspected of being involved in a €124 million online casino scheme in Ukraine
Ukrainian law enforcement officials have notified two Russian citizens that they are under suspicion; they are believed to be the organizers of a network of illegal online casinos which, according to the investigation, continued to operate in Ukraine even after losing its license. This involves a large-scale scheme involving gambling and cryptocurrency transactions, which could have generated hundreds of millions of euros in illicit revenue. The notice of suspicion was published on the website of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
The Economic Security Bureau, together with the Office of the Prosecutor General, announced charges against two Russian citizens whom investigators consider key figures in the creation and management of a network of illegal gambling platforms. The organizer is identified as Alexei Ryabov, born in 1988, who, according to law enforcement, controls the “Gagarin Group” of IT companies, which provided the technical infrastructure for the online casinos.
The investigation established that as early as 2020, the company “Joker.ua” was registered in Kyiv, which in 2021 received a license for online gambling under the “Joker” brand. However, in December 2022, the license was revoked after false information was discovered in the documents, and the company’s ties to residents of the aggressor state were confirmed.
Despite this, according to the investigation, from December 13, 2022, to May 2024, the online casino’s operations did not cease and continued in an underground format. This refers to the network of brands “Joker,” “Zaza” (or “Zaza Casino”), “Pokerdom,” and “Aurora” (or “Aurora Casino”), which operated without licenses and continued to accept bets.
Companies registered on the island of Curaçao were used for financial transactions, including the processing of cryptocurrency payments. According to the investigation, these companies were registered under the name of Roman Belyalov, born in 1984, who is believed to be a co-organizer of the scheme. Law enforcement officials claim that over the course of about a year and a half, this network may have laundered approximately 124 million euros in cryptocurrency equivalent, masking the origin of the funds through international payment systems.
In addition to the two main suspects, the investigation has also identified at least six other individuals who may have been involved in the scheme. Among them are a co-organizer from the “Gagarin Group,” a marketing director, several operatives, and administrative staff, including HR personnel and website administrators who ensured the platforms’ operation and provided user support.
The state agency “PlayCity” has officially launched direct cooperation with the video hosting platform YouTube to combat the illegal promotion of gambling. The new cooperation mechanism allows for the rapid identification and blocking of content that violates Ukrainian gambling laws.
