For years, Pin-Up operated in Ukraine under the guise of a “legal gambling operator.” But behind the front of local licenses and PR campaigns stood a transnational structure headquartered in Russia and Cyprus. The charges include participation in a criminal organization, money laundering, tax evasion, and document forgery.
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Reprinting, copying, reproducing, modifying or any other use of materials published with the note of the agreement of syndication with Financial Times Limited are strictly prohibited. Any use of materials that are in closed access and are only available to registered users is allowed only with the prior written permission of the copyright owner. Design, style, and all the contents of website protected by copyright and law. The investigation is now examining not only the company’s accounts, but also assets acquired with its profits—real estate, crypto wallets, luxury cars, and land deals. According to investigators, DiamondPay serviced up to 70% of the gambling market and was the main conduit for converting revenues into cryptocurrency. Authorities seized over UAH 2.6 billion, some of which has already been used to purchase military bonds.
- According to the agency, the detainee was informed of suspicion of aiding the aggressor state.
- The negative impacts of gambling, especially on the Ukrainian soldiers, became a topic of public discussion in the spring of 2024 as a petition demanding restrictions on online gambling reached the president’s table in March.
- Use of materials which refers to France-Presse, Reuters, Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrainian News, UNIAN agencies is strictly prohibited.
- According to investigators, DiamondPay serviced up to 70% of the gambling market and was the main conduit for converting revenues into cryptocurrency.
- President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on April 20 approving restrictions on online gambling and banning it for the military while martial law remains in effect.
- The SBI employees carried out a set of procedural measures, including technical ones, with the involvement of relevant experts, who confirmed the negative consequences for the combat capability of the Ukrainian Defense Forces due to the use of the services of this online casino.
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“During the investigation, it was established that the real owners of this commercial structure, which received a license to carry out activities for the organization and conduct of gambling casino games on the Internet, are citizens of the Russian Federation,” the SBI reported on its Telegram channel on Friday. The online casino itself, as the Bureau found out during the pretrial investigation, continues its activities on the territory of the Russian Federation and Russian web resources. The Bureau reminds that as part of the investigation into the activities of this online casino, SBI employees and prosecutors from the Prosecutor General’s Office, in cooperation with the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine, revealed facts of the company’s representatives aiding the aggressor state. The site contains no more than 20% of the daily volume of materials of the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.Full access to online and offline information products is possible with a test and contract connection to the information.
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Sixty billion euros ($70 billion) will be earmarked for defense, with the remaining 30 billion euros ($35 billion) allocated to support Ukraine’s budget, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said during a press conference in Brussels on Jan 14. Local authorities reported on Jan. 14 that air defenses were active in the capital due to yet another Russian drone attack. The casino’s owners, who are Russian citizens, allegedly collected personal data and information about the location of their users, including military personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and other military formations. The SBI notes that the pretrial investigation is ongoing – the involvement of other subjects under investigation by the Bureau is being documented, the circle of which is being established.
- Any use of materials that are in closed access and are only available to registered users is allowed only with the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
- The SBI notes that the pretrial investigation is ongoing – the involvement of other subjects under investigation by the Bureau is being documented, the circle of which is being established.
- The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) expands its case against the Pin-Up online casino to the scale of an organized criminal group.
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Pin-Up continues to operate in Russia and on Russian websites, the law enforcement agencies reported. All materials presented on the open part of this information resource are posted with a delay of at least 15 minutes. According to the agency, the detainee was informed of suspicion of aiding the aggressor state. Use of materials which refers to France-Presse, Reuters, Interfax-Ukraine, Ukrainian News, UNIAN agencies is strictly prohibited.
Pin-Up Under Sanctions: How a Global Gambling Giant Found Itself at the Epicenter of War, Crime, and Double Standards
Any use of site materials is allowed only while meeting the requirements of reprinting terms and with the reference to materials in public domain can be used and adding of link and/or direct hyperlink open for search engines to immediate material address on The glamorous face of a “legal casino” has been unmasked as the cover for a multilayered criminal operation. The new charges under Article 255 of the Criminal Code (establishing a criminal organization) allow the investigation to target the entire network of organizers, financiers, IT architects, and state enablers. Companies linked to Pin-Up had operated in occupied territories, transmitted geolocation data of users (including Ukrainian soldiers), conducted payments into the Russian budget, and supported “veterans” of Russia’s so-called “special military operation.” The suspension is set to take effect on Jan. 21 and will remain in place indefinitely while the State Department conducts a review of visa processing procedures, Fox News reported. Russia struck a playground in the city center of the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Governor Maksym Kozytskyi reported on Jan. 15.
Owners, top managers of popular online casino in Ukraine suspected of collaborating with Russia
In addition, the person directly controlling the activities of the online casino, after the start of the full-scale invasion, financed veterans of the so-called “SVO.” The State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) expands its case against the Pin-Up online casino to the scale of an organized criminal group. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on April 20 approving restrictions on online gambling and banning it for the military while martial law remains in effect.
The negative impacts of gambling, especially on the Ukrainian soldiers, became a topic of public discussion in the spring of 2024 as a petition demanding restrictions on online gambling reached the president’s table in March. In May, the Pecherskyi Court in Kyiv seized the accounts of Pin-Up’s online casino. One of the unnamed accused individuals, who “controls the online casino’s work,” has been financing an organization that helped Russian veterans who fought in Ukraine after the start of the full-scale war. The beneficial owners and top managers of one of the most popular online casinos in Ukraine, Pin-Up, are suspected of collaborating with Russia, the State Bureau of Investigation (DBR) and the Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Dec. 5. The SBI employees carried out a set of procedural measures, including technical ones, with the involvement of relevant experts, who confirmed the negative consequences for the combat capability of the Ukrainian Defense Forces due to the use of the services of this online casino. The State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) detained the director of the company that operated in Ukraine under the brand of the online casino PIN-UP, the detainee was informed of suspicion of aiding the aggressor state.
