Director of online casino PIN-UP, which is linked to Russia, was sent to custody – SBI
17 February 15:22
A preventive measure was imposed on the director of the PIN-UP online casino, which is suspected of laundering Russian money. He was taken into custody.
This was reported by Tetyana Sapian, advisor to the head of the State Bureau of Investigation on communications, during a telethon, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports.
“As of today, in addition to the announced suspicion of aiding the aggressor state, a preventive measure has already been imposed on the director of this company – detention without the alternative of bail,” Sapian said.
As a reminder, on February 14, the State Bureau of Investigation detained the director of PIN-UP online casino, which is suspected of laundering Russian money. The detainee is charged with aiding the enemy.
What is known about Pin-Up’s activities in Ukraine
The casino has been operating in Ukraine since 2021 under the license of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries. By the way, as you know, the Verkhovna Rada has adopted today in the second reading the draft law on strengthening control in the gambling market No. 9256-d, which, in particular, provides for the liquidation of the Commission for Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries.
Law enforcers suspect Pin-Up of money laundering through cryptocurrencies and circumventing sanctions against Russia. The investigation established that from January 2022 to February 2024, Pin-Up transferred more than UAH 170 million to the Russian company Guruflow Team LTD for license fees. The total volume of suspicious transactions during this period exceeded UAH 714 billion.
In August, as part of an investigation into money laundering schemes “involving a number of business entities licensed to organize online gambling,” the court seized funds in casino accounts and transferred them to the Asset Recovery and Management Agency.
In October, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv canceled the seizure of UAH 2.6 billion of Pin-Up online casino. The National Asset Recovery Agency then turned to the State Bureau of Investigation for a new arrest.
As reported by Kommersant Ukrayinsky, on October 30, at the request of the State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General’s Office, the court ruled to re-seize the funds. Currently, the funds remain under the management of the National Asset Recovery Agency.
