The SSU jointly with the ESBU eliminated a large-scale scheme of laundering illicit gambling profits in Ukraine.

The management of a Kyiv bank specializing in electronic money transfer services is involved in the scheme.

Recently, the National Bank of Ukraine revoked the financial institution’s license and started liquidation proceedings due to numerous financial frauds. It is due to the NBU’s principled position that the law enforcement agencies have been able to effectively counter threats to national security in the banking sector.

The investigation established that bank officials had set up a mechanism for laundering money from unlicensed online casinos and betting shops under the guise of providing innovative payment services.

In this way, the dealers ‘serviced’ the illegal gambling business, which has a total turnover of UAH 180 bln per year.

The bank’s shadow profit from illegal financial transactions annually amounted to over UAH 2.5 bln (USD 64 mln).

To implement the scheme, its organizers created an extensive payment infrastructure involving over 20 controlled commercial entities.

Their accounts were used to credit funds from deposits to gambling accounts on gambling websites.

The money was then diverted to the shadow economy through a network of affiliated companies and distributed among organizers of the transaction.

The law enforcement also documented numerous facts of payments made from russian bank cards. This happened after russia’s full-scale invasion, in violation of the relevant ban of the National Bank of Ukraine.

The SSU and the ESBU detectives are conducting searches in the bank’s offices and companies controlled by the bank. These activities are part of the criminal proceeding initiated under two Articles of the CCU:

• 212.3 (tax evasion);
• 364.2 (abuse of power or position).

The operational and investigative activities are conducted under the supervision of the Prosecutor General’s Office and Lviv Region Prosecutor’s Office in cooperation with the National Bank of Ukraine.