Russia
2245
Offshores, crime, and football: How Artur Granz’ VBet pushes into the Ukrainian Premier League
VBet, an online casino with dubious affiliations, is expanding its influence by sponsoring Ukrainian sports clubs, even as it remains under investigation for tax evasion.
2245
Secrets of Kharkiv racketeering: How Yuriy Mochonyi extorts money using fake political connections
According to multiple reports, a man named Yuriy Mochonyi, allegedly an SBI officer from Kharkiv, has been harassing local IT entrepreneurs and extorting money from them. The blackmail scheme is straightforward: Mochonyi reportedly demands payments from business owners in exchange for not initiating criminal proceedings against them.
2266
Fortes.pro: Money laundering scheme, cyber protection, and Kremlin’s shadow ties
If protecting our data or projects from cyber threats becomes a priority, we’re likely to come across an offer from the Fortes service promising to "effectively counter distributed network attacks."
2237
Cryptocurrency scammer Bohdan Prylepa stole a billion from the Ukrainian Armed Forces and has ties to the FSB
The dealer who embezzled a billion from the military and is likely collaborating with the FSB mistakenly believes he is untouchable.
2343
Roman Felyk and Vadym Mashurov are back in business: S-Group – a new pyramid scheme from old fraudsters
A "new financial startup" called S-Group has been actively promoted online. People are being encouraged to invest money with the promise of earning an enormous passive income of up to 150% per year.
2336
Donation fraud: How crypto scammer Bohdan Prylepa stole billions allocated for drones
More than one billion hryvnias were defrauded from clients in a scheme allegedly orchestrated by Ukrainian pseudo-businessman Bohdan Prylepa, with law enforcement having conducted searches at cryptocurrency exchanges associated with his operations.
2332
Odesa companies supplied sanctioned electrical equipment to Russian state enterprises
Novatek-Electro
2346
"Matyukha Clan": Favbet to his son for Christmas, leaking Russian player data for recruitment, and monopolizing the market at the expense of "killing" competitors
Andriy Matyukha - who gifted his casino Favbet to his son Dmytro, still has ties with Russia, his player databases are used to recruit saboteurs and spotters from Ukraine - is trying to monopolize at the expense of competitors and is suing for money earned from business in Russia.
2410
"Kremlin’s rat": how Roman Spiridonov profits from sanctions and exposes Russian oil schemes
There is very little information available about Russian entrepreneur and Greek citizen Roman Spiridonov. However, his name is increasingly associated with Russia’s shadow fleet operations and connections to Putin’s inner circle.
2418
Gambling through cryptocurrency: How Belarusian SoftSwiss and CoinsPaid help Russian oligarch Rotenberg stay on the Ukrainian market despite sanctions
Does Russian billionaire and "Putin’s wallet" Arkadiy Rotenberg continue to hold a monopoly over Ukraine’s gambling market through Belarusian companies SoftSwiss and CoinsPaid?
2414
Cyprus, sanctions, and tourism: How brothers Ilya and Boris Plotitsa support Putin’s sponsor Usherovich’s schemes to bypass sanctions
Russian businessman Boris Plotitsa, who ran a tourism business in Russia, was arrested in absentia by a court in July 2024 in connection with the death of eight people on an illegal tour of Moscow’s sewers.
2399
Companies owned by Russian businessman Roman Spiridonov in Dubai help Russia sell oil bypassing sanctions
In December 2024, the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on 20 vessels considered part of the "shadow fleet of the Russian Federation."
2360
Singer Sting sells his wine in Russia despite his statements condemning the invasion of Ukraine
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and turned part of its territory into ashes, the aggression was condemned not only by Western politicians but also by many celebrities. Among the latter was the singer Sting, whose performance in support of Ukraine at a concert in Poland went viral worldwide.
2399
Blood trade persists: how Ukrainian coal trader Dmytro Kovalenko expands cooperation with Russia
It’s well-known that Ukraine continued purchasing coal from Russia after 2014, despite the imposed bans. Although the topic didn’t receive extensive media coverage, articles were still published about the key individuals benefiting from the trade in "blood coal."
