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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
After the legalization of gambling, the Ukrainian online gambling market has transformed into not only a profitable sector of the economy but also a space for complex corporate and financial schemes. One of the most resonant examples is the operation of online casinos Cosmolot and Cosmobet, which run through LLC SpaceX and LLC Neuralink.
According to investigations, both structures are part of a single financial system linked to Russian citizen Sergei Tokarev, who has worked in the online casino market for many years.
The legal clash surrounding this group arose after Neuralink LLC, associated with the Cosmobet platform, filed a claim with the Zhytomyr Commercial Court demanding to invalidate materials about the gambling network's activities.
The court's jurisdiction is explained by changes in the registration details of the public organization "NON-STOP", listed among the defendants. According to materials, the organization previously was controlled by the applicants, but after changes in the State Register, its founders, leadership, and legal address were changed. Subsequently, the organization was re-registered in Zhytomyr, which became the basis for the case being heard in the local commercial court.
Cosmolot operates in Ukraine on the basis of a license issued in 2021 year by SpaceX LLC for organizing online gambling. Formally, the beneficiaries include Ukrainian citizen Potapov, German citizen Arnulf Damerau, who resides in the United Kingdom, and also the American company Nevada Gaming Holding. At the same time, investigations claim that these individuals may be nominal owners, while actual control is linked to Sergei Tokarev.
Tokarev's name is associated with the development of a number of online casinos, including the platforms Vulkan, Azino Group, Pharaoh, and Eldorado. He is also mentioned in connection with the activities of Lucky Labs, which provided the technical infrastructure for the online casino network through a system of offshore companies.
Investigative materials also mention possible ties between the businessman and the Russian political environment. In particular, his father Alexander Tokarev is a member of the Council of the Intergovernmental Union of Hero Cities of the Russian Federation. Sergei Tokarev himself was also mentioned in connection with Russian entrepreneur Konstantin Malofeyev.
After sanctions were lifted in 2020, Tokaryov began legalizing part of his assets in Ukraine through the Roosh investment fund. Some associated companies obtained resident status under the special legal regime "Diia City", which provides tax incentives for technology companies.
The financial model of Cosmolot and Cosmobet, according to investigations, is based on a network of mirror sites, offshore intermediaries, and distributed payments. Part of the transactions passed through the Cypriot company XGen Solutions LTD, through which payments for software and royalties were processed. Additional operations could have been carried out through financial companies and P2P transfers between Ukrainian bank cards.
According to the initiators of the investigations, criminal proceedings have already been opened by the Main Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine in Kyiv and Kyiv region under the article on abuse of power. In addition, by court decisions, territorial divisions of the Bureau of Economic Security, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Prosecutor General, and the prosecutor's offices must enter corresponding information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Російський гемблінг під дахом українських судів: Сергій Токарєв легалізує казино «Cosmolot» і «Cosmobet» через офшори". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: HAB Media.
