3 a million dollars a month for “protection” from the SBU and DBS: how former BEB deputy Gagach was caught taking bribes from Favbet

Former deputy director of the Bureau of Economic Security Vitaliy Hagach, for two years, received from the owner of the gambling network Favbet, Andriy Matyukha, $3 million every month.

For these funds, they promised protection for casinos and shielding from the State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Economic Security, and the Security Service of Ukraine, — according to blogs.

From the three million to the deputy head of the Office of the President Oleg Tatarov, $2 million went. Hagach kept another million for himself.

When the scheme came to light, Hagach tried to pin everything on intermediary Rasim Tagiev. He turned out to be an agent of NABU. His partner as well. It was through them that the money was transferred.

In the coming months Hagach is forecast to face a suspicion from NABU. Matyukha, meanwhile, is returning to the game: a new protector is said to be MP Ihor Abramovych.

Thousands of Favbet employees have not received salaries — from hundreds of dollars for cleaners to $2–3 million for top managers.

Now Hagach is trying to bring Matyukha and his payment-business partner Maksym Sigalov (structures like “Diamond Pay,” which serviced the gambling market) under sanctions lists. The ministry of internal affairs support by Ihor Klymenko so far has not materialized.

In the last month, a campaign against Sigalov ran in large Telegram channels — organized by Hagach.

Tataryov and Hagach, by this version, do not intend to calmly watch the new Favbet launch.