Is There a "Russian Trace" in the Hanning Case? What PlayCity and the SBU Know About the Company That Owns the Cosmolot Brand

Spy scandal in Germany: former BND chief August Hanning under arrest. He also chairs the supervisory board of the company that owns Cosmolot, but did PlayCity and the SBU vet him?

StopCor has already reported that former head of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) August Hanning, who was detained on suspicion of espionage and treason, is listed as chairman of the board of the American holding Nevada Gaming Holding. The company announced it had acquired a controlling stake in SpaceX LLC, the operator of the online casino Cosmolot.

To find out whether Ukrainian state bodies are investigating circumstances related to the holding’s leadership and the gambling business owners, StopCor’s team of analysts reviewed German media and open registries and established what is known about August Hanning and the espionage case in which he appears.

Nearly 2000 secret documents: what is known about the Hanning case

According to Deutsche Welle, 6 October 2026, authorities in Germany detained August Hanning, who led the BND in 1998–2005. He was arrested along with his former colleague Manfred D. The next day a court ordered Hanning to remain in custody.

Prosecutors allege that in the spring of 2010 Hanning agreed with Manfred D. to regularly transfer valuable information obtained at the BND in exchange for compensation. By June 2022, Manfred D. allegedly handed the former director about 2000 documents, many of which were classified.

German investigators claim Hanning planned to use the obtained materials in his private consulting activities. In one case, he allegedly prepared an analytical report based on secret information for an employee of a foreign intelligence service. At the same time, authorities have not established whether that material reached the intended recipient.

German media have paid particular attention to a possible Russian connection. DW notes that investigators are examining the version involving Hanning’s contacts with a representative of a foreign intelligence service, while Der Spiegel reported a possible link to Azerbaijani intelligence. No state has been officially confirmed as the beneficiary of the information transfer.

The case has already raised concerns about the protection of state secrets and trust among Germany’s allied intelligence services.

From the head of German intelligence to private business: August Hanning’s biography

August Hanning (August Hanning) was born on 16 February 1946 in Nordwalde in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. He studied law at the universities of Münster and Freiburg and later earned a doctorate in law. His professional career was linked for nearly three decades to German state structures and the security sector.

In 1981 Hanning began working in the Federal Chancellery of Germany. In 1986 he headed a unit at the Permanent Mission of the FRG in East Berlin, dealing with internal security and counterintelligence. After German reunification he continued at the Federal Chancellery, and in 1996 he became coordinator of the federal intelligence services.

In December 1998 Hanning became head of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and led it until 2005. This is one of the key German intelligence structures responsible for obtaining and analyzing information on foreign threats. After leaving that post, Hanning moved to the Federal Ministry of the Interior, where he served as state secretary until 2009.

However, after leaving public service he did not leave the security field and began working in private consulting. In 2010 Hanning founded Hanning Consult, which provided advisory services. According to the German investigative outlet CORRECTIV, among the company’s clients was Kazakhstan, and his business contacts also extended to Russia and China.

In 2018 Hanning became chairman of the supervisory board of the Swiss company Pluteos AG, which operated in analytics and intelligence services for private companies, organizations, and state institutions. He also worked with the British consulting firm G3, specializing in Russia and the former Soviet republics.

Another business asset was the German company GSC4 GmbH, formed in 2018. According to CORRECTIV, Hanning and his family members owned its shares, including through an intermediate holding structure. The company specialized in business analytics, consulting, and investigations. Its stated areas of work included Russia, CIS countries, Eastern Europe, China, and Arab states. According to the latest available financial statement, for 2024 GSC4 earned about 2,2 million euros in revenue. In June 2026 the company was liquidated.

Hanning’s move from heading an intelligence service to the private sector is now at the center of German investigators’ attention. Prosecutors allege that in 2010–2022 Hanning received classified BND documents from his former colleague and may have used them commercially. Authorities are also examining his contacts with representatives of foreign intelligence services.

At the same time, Hanning’s work with clients from Russia, China, or other countries does not in itself prove involvement in espionage. These are individual business ties and suspicions that must be assessed based on evidence within the criminal proceedings. Hanning denies unlawful actions, and his lawyer has said possession of documents did not mean their improper use.

From the BND to leadership of the holding that bought Cosmolot

As StopCor previously reported, Hanning’s name appears on the official Nevada Gaming Holding website in the leadership section. He is listed as chairman of the board of the holding, whose president and CEO is Arnulf Damerau.

On Nevada Gaming Holding’s official site, Cosmolot is presented as one of the company’s investment assets. At the end of October 2024 the holding announced it had acquired a controlling stake in SpaceX LLC, the online casino operator.

Hanning’s holding position alone does not mean the company is involved in the espionage case. However, combined with the German investigation, it raises questions about what checks were made regarding the leadership and ownership structure of a business operating on Ukraine’s gambling market.

Serhiy Tokarev, sanctions, and prior questions about Cosmolot

Cosmolot has attracted attention before. Media reported on Serhiy Tokarev, whom they called the founder of the online casino and linked to a number of IT projects.

According to publications, in 2016 Tokarev was placed under sanctions by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, and in 2020 the restrictions against him were lifted. Media also wrote about his possible trips to Moscow and occupied Crimea after 2014.

In August 2026 the outlet Antikor published an article titled “Cosmolot’s owner and Diia.City resident, Russian Serhiy Tokarev, cleans the internet of information about flights to occupied Crimea.” The piece describes the disappearance from the internet of certain materials about his past and possible trips to the occupied peninsula.

Additionally, in February 2024 the Bureau of Economic Security reported the seizure of 700 million UAH in the accounts of one of the major gambling operators suspected of tax evasion. According to sources cited by Economic Truth about the market, this involved Cosmolot. The company said at the time it considered the accusations unfounded and appealed the seizure. The seizure of funds does not prove the company’s guilt.

What the editorial office asked PlayCity

A separate reason to question the regulator arose in April 2026. According to Suspilne, on 22 April PlayCity revoked the license of SpaceX LLC and imposed fines totaling nearly 13 million UAH. The grounds cited were use of P2P payments and accepting funds from third parties’ bank cards.

However, on 24 April the Kyiv District Administrative Court suspended the regulator’s decision until the dispute is finally resolved. According to Suspilne, the company also said it received a new five-year license in January 2026.

In its request to PlayCity, the editorial office asked whether SpaceX LLC currently holds valid licenses, on what grounds the decision to revoke them was made, and which court rulings affected their validity.

A separate set of questions concerns ownership structure. StopCor asks for information on whether the licensee notified the regulator of changes in ownership after Nevada Gaming Holding acquired a controlling stake, and whether August Hanning appears in company documents as an executive, beneficiary, person with significant participation, or someone who influences governance.

The editorial office also asked whether the regulator checked the holding and its leadership for compliance with requirements on business reputation, source of funds, and absence of ties to an aggressor state. Other questions concerned possible PlayCity referrals to the SBU, State Financial Monitoring Service, and other authorities, as well as information from the BES about the seizure of funds in 2024.

Did the SBU take interest in the espionage case?

StopCor also contacted the Security Service of Ukraine to find out whether Ukrainian law enforcement is aware of the circumstances of the German investigation into August Hanning and whether they are checking potential risks if those circumstances could be relevant to Ukraine.

The editorial office is awaiting responses from PlayCity and the SBU and will continue to monitor developments around Cosmolot, changes in ownership structure, and government decisions on gambling regulation.

Recall that earlier the chair of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, again raised the issue of the gambling market’s operation and possible tax evasion by its participants. In his Facebook post he said the schemes authorities fought against under the previous leadership of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and PlayCity allegedly continue to operate. Hetmantsev’s status as chair of the relevant parliamentary committee is confirmed on the official Verkhovna Rada portal.