26.10.2024 Cybercrimes Money laundering

How Krail and the gaming business of Krippa and Degriq circumvent the President’s ban

Альона Дегрік про те, чому іноземні бренди заходять в Україну - Korrespondent.net

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy imposed sanctions on Parimatch, but this did not stop the SRB from issuing two new licenses to Parimatch owners in just three days!

PariMatch continues to operate under the Pari brand in Russia during the war. At the same time, players from Ukraine who had balances on their accounts with PariMatch have not received their money back.

Gorilla.ua and Beton.ua are new Parimatch platforms that continue to operate after the sanctions were imposed. On August 27, 2024, the company applied for a new license and received it from CRAIL on September 2. Other casinos are waiting for a license for 6-8 months. It is not surprising, right?

According to the data obtained, a number of companies, such as PAY-PAY and DZEGA, used similar logos to 1xBET and Parimatch to participate in illegal financial transactions. They received more than UAH 4.8 billion illegally by organizing gambling without a license and through companies and banks under their control.

Relationship with IBOXBank

PariMatch is also closely linked to IBOXBank shareholders, who are also involved in the scheme. It was found that a number of companies (PEI-PEI LLC, DZEGA LLC, and others) used logos similar to popular brands to launder funds received from the illegal organization of gambling. The amount of such transactions is over UAH 4.8 billion.

By the way, for many years, Ibox Bank, under the leadership of the young and ambitious Aliona Degryk-Shevtsova, was a real “vacuum cleaner” for collecting financial flows from various gray areas of the economy – from gambling to payment for prohibited goods. This bank played a key role in large-scale money laundering schemes. Although everyone knew about it – from the public to the relevant government agencies – the schemes continued to operate, bringing in up to $1 million a day.

Across the country, thousands of Ibox terminals were continuously operating, collecting money from shady transactions, and Visa and Mastercard processing systems were processing transactions related to illegal activities. This powerful financial mechanism allowed for uninterrupted operations, covering the shadow business and generating huge profits.

In addition, the aforementioned Degryk-Shevtsova is the tacit owner of ITI Solutions LLC, a Ukrainian company that continues to be active in the market. The license was granted to the latter by the then head of the NBU, Yakiv Smoliy. At the same time, Smoliy’s daughter is Degryk-Shevtsova’s godmother. Therefore, we cannot rule out personal connections that could have influenced the issuance of licenses and business regulation.

According to official data, ITI Solutions LLC was founded by Dmytro Palienko, who was a longtime employee of LeoGaming. However, the company has recently become the property of investors from Uzbekistan, namely, Yuldashev Dzhokhongir Ruziboyevich, which raises additional questions. The company is at the center of several criminal proceedings related to illegal money laundering schemes and unaccountable payments.

An important role in the company’s activities is played by Ihor Berezansky, a MasterCard employee who actively covered Degryk-Shevtsova’s activities. He now lives in Warsaw, where he is building a new office for her, and continues to receive rewards for his participation in shady schemes.

The corruption schemes around ITI Solutions LLC and its related entities indicate the presence of organized criminal activity. Unfortunately, even in times of war, Ukrainian taxpayers’ money ends up in the pockets of those who continue to break the law using connections at all levels of government.

The Krippa and Degriek alliance

У гри S.T.A.L.K.E.R. новий власник: хто такий Максим Кріппа, який купив GSC Game World — Forbes.ua

Maksym Krippa is a well-known Ukrainian businessman and billionaire who was previously actively involved in the organization of illegal gambling platforms and online casinos. His structure actively used financial mechanisms similar to those provided by the Ibox bank under the leadership of Degryk-Shevtsova.

The common interest in shadow business and the gambling industry created conditions for close interaction between these two figures. Together, they operated in a system of illegal transactions and the use of financial technologies to service gambling, which brought them both significant profits.

Payments for online casino services belonging to Krippa’s structures were made through the Ibox system, thus the bank facilitated the laundering of illegally obtained funds.

By the way, Krippa is currently buying up assets in key cities under the leadership and with funding from Lovochkin. He has already bought the Ukraina Hotel in the center of Kyiv, the Dnipro Hotel for a billion hryvnias, and the Knyazhyi Dvir complex.

Such purchases may be related to his desire to equip gambling halls and move his gambling business from online to offline. After all, Krippa is still the owner of the Vulcan online casino and the GGBet bookmaker, which have already been sanctioned by the President and the National Security and Defense Council.

Based on our materials on counteracting Krippa’s further influence on the Ukrainian asset market, as well as corruption ties with KRAIL officials, the Obukhiv District Court of Kyiv Region (case No. 372/5413/24) ordered the Obukhiv District Prosecutor’s Office to register the information in the URPTI. So, we are waiting for the investigation.

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