SBU exposes Kyiv bankers on money laundering of underground online casinos
The dealers "serviced" illegal gambling business, the total turnover of which is UAH 180 billion per year
SBU together with the Bureau of Economic Security eliminated a large-scale scheme of money laundering in Ukraine. The management of a Kyiv bank specializing in electronic money transfer services was involved in the organization of the scheme.
Source. This is stated in the SBU press release.
Recently, the NBU revoked the financial institution's license and began liquidation proceedings due to numerous financial frauds. It is thanks to the principled position of the National Bank that law enforcement officers managed to establish effective counteraction to threats to national security in the banking sector, the statement said.
It was established that bank officials set up a mechanism for "legalizing" money from unlicensed online casinos and bookmakers 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 billion per year.
The bank's shadow profit from illegal financial transactions annually exceeded UAH 2.5 billion.
To implement the scheme, its organizers created an extensive payment infrastructure involving more than 20 controlled commercial entities.
Their accounts were used to credit funds from deposits to gambling accounts on gambling websites.
The money was then transferred into the shadow through a network of affiliated companies and distributed among the organizers of the transaction.
In addition, law enforcement officers documented numerous facts of payments from Russian bank cards – and after the invasion of Russia, bypassing the relevant ban of the National Bank of Ukraine.
The SBU is conducting searches at the bank's offices and companies controlled by it.
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