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A Ukrainian court has confiscated 2.6 billion hryvnia (around $62 million) from gambling company Pin-Up, in what officials are calling a major win for accountability and for the military budget.
The numbers are eye-popping. Ukrainian investigators say this sum alone could pay 26,000 soldiers’ salaries for a month. And while this case started as a murmur back in February, it’s now become one of the most talked-about legal moves in the country’s gaming sector.
Where It All Began
It kicked off when Igor Zotko, Director of Pin-Up Ukraine, was detained earlier this year. His company, which used the software and branding of Pin-Up Global, had a legal license to operate in Ukraine. But investigators believed something more was going on.
Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) and the State Financial Monitoring Service alleged that the company wasn’t just running games, it was potentially aiding Russia’s war efforts through shady financial flows.
And that’s where things got serious.
The case was pushed forward by Dmytro Mirkovets, Head of the SBI’s Main Investigation Department, who framed the confiscation as a patriotic act. According to him, this wasn’t just about business compliance, it was about cutting off funding routes to an aggressor state.
The Verdict
The Shevchenkivskyi District Court in Kyiv approved a deal between Zotko and prosecutors. His sentence? Five years, though three years are suspended. The list of charges is heavy:
- Economic activity with an aggressor state
- Tax evasion
- Money laundering
- Official forgery
Investigators said the financial setup behind the scenes was actively channeling resources to Russia’s military budget, even alleging that the casino was supporting veterans of the ‘Special Military Operation’, Russia’s own term for its invasion of Ukraine.
The Company’s Defence
Not everyone’s convinced. Marina Ilina, CEO of Pin-Up Global, hit back hard. She said the claims are completely off-base. Her defence? She’s Ukrainian herself, and she claims that her company’s books are clean. No shady transfers, no funding of Russia, just legal business operations.
Whether that argument holds up long term is unclear. But what is clear is that the Ukrainian authorities aren’t playing around.
What This Means For The Industry
This isn’t just about one company or one court case. It’s part of a bigger movement in Ukraine’s gambling industry.
In January, Ukraine shut down its old gambling regulator (CRGL) and replaced it with a new body called PlayCity. The message is obvious, tighten up the rules, clean up the system, and cut off any ties that could fund the wrong side of the war.
This case has raised the bar. It’s a sign that Ukraine is putting serious weight behind its compliance push, especially when national security is involved.
And for gambling operators across the region, and beyond, it’s a wake-up call. The days of flying under the radar are over.
If your name ends up in the wrong courtroom, the consequences could be massive.
Source: Gambling Insider
