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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
According to an investigation by hromadske, companies linked to online casinos, social games, and businesses with possible Russian corporate ties were using the Diia.City tax benefits and booking employees against mobilization. Overall, journalists counted nearly 150 booked employees across the companies studied, although the periods of deferment varied and some permissions may have expired. The situation raised questions about the residency criteria for the special legal regime and the vetting of companies that claim critical-status.
Diia.City was created by the Ministry of Digital Transformation under the leadership of Mykhailo Fedorov to attract investment and develop the technology sector. The regime provides special tax conditions for certain categories of business, media report. At the same time, residency alone does not automatically grant the right to book employees: for that, an enterprise must meet additional requirements and go through an established procedure. One central example in the report was the LLC Favbet Tech, which later changed its name to Highload Solutions. According to the journalists, the company develops software for Favbet and is connected to the brand’s corporate group. In March 2022 the company became a Diia.City resident. In April 2024 the company received booking for 15 employees. The information became public after People's Deputy Oleksandr Fedienko released an order from the Ministry of Economy. The decision sparked public debate about the possibility of booking employees of companies whose activity is linked to the gambling industry. At that time Favbet stated the company is part of the “Ukrainian cyber force.” Mykhailo Fedorov explained the need for booking as a requirement to retain highly qualified IT specialists. Then Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko announced cancellation of the order to book employees of companies whose decisions caused public concern. However, according to hromadske, from July 2024 to August 2025 Favbet Tech received bookings for another 20 employees. Thus, after the earlier outcry the company again appeared among enterprises whose employees had a deferment from mobilization. The mere fact of booking does not prove a violation of the law, but it leaves open the question of the criteria for assessing a company’s criticality. Two other gambling-sector enterprises included in the investigation were LLC Billtech Games and LLC Computer Service. Both companies hold Diia.City residency status and are connected with providing services to the gambling sphere. Billtech Games joined the regime in October 2023, and between July 2024 and August 2025 it booked ten employees. Journalists named Andrii Rutkovskyi, a former patrol police officer in Vinnytsia region, as its owner. He did not answer the editorial office’s calls. After publication Billtech Games issued its position, stressing that a license to provide services in the gambling field does not mean the company is a casino or directly organizes gambling. It asserts the company has the right to supply software for the industry. At the same time, hromadske’s piece cites a regulator decision describing the company’s activity as providing services for organizing and conducting gambling. For legal assessment, it is necessary to distinguish the license wording, the list of permitted services, and the company’s actual activity. Computer Service obtained Diia.City residency in July 2023. According to the journalists, from August 2024 to August 2025 seven of its employees had bookings. Company representatives confirmed the booked employees are still employed. Two other companies — Product Madness Ukraine and Playtika Ukraine — operate in the social casino segment. Such games use virtual coins or chips that cannot be exchanged for real money, although users may be offered to purchase additional in-game resources. According to hromadske, between January 2024 and August 2025 these two enterprises together booked 21 employee. In total, journalists recorded 58 booked employees across the five mentioned gambling-sector companies during the periods studied. The Diia.City project office explains that direct organizers and operators of gambling cannot be residents of the regime, while software development for the gambling business belongs to a different category of activity. Project office Legal Lead Oleksii Dobronravov told hromadske the issue concerns developing programs used in gambling. This approach implies a separation between organizing the game and providing the technical support for its operation. Another part of the investigation concerns companies whose corporate structures the journalists found to have possible links to Russian business. In the summer of 2022 Mykhailo Fedorov stated that enterprises connected to Russian business could not be Diia.City residents. However, in spring 2024 NGL.media published a list of 24 resident companies that, according to the outlet, were earning in Russia or Belarus while using Ukrainian benefits. The Ministry of Digital Transformation then explained that the legislation had gaps, including cases where owners were Russian citizens but lived outside Russia. At the end of 2024 the Verkhovna Rada adopted changes that expanded restrictions. Since then, companies directly or indirectly connected to Russia through the state, Russian legal entities, Russian citizens, or people who permanently or predominantly reside on its territory cannot be residents of the regime. Among hromadske’s examples is LLC G5 Holdco Ukraine, a mobile games developer and Diia.City resident since August 2022. The Ukrainian enterprise is connected to the Swedish G5 Entertainment. G5’s financial report for 2024 mentioned Russian shareholders and two Russian companies of which the Swedish entity remains a co-founder. According to journalists, one of those companies was gradually winding down, while the other earned 48 million rubles in 2024. According to hromadske, G5 Holdco Ukraine booked 67 employees in 2024. Company representative Oksana Zamula denied the presence of Russian ties in the Ukrainian legal entity and noted she is not responsible for the mother company’s shareholders. Another case is Mirantis Ukraine, a Diia.City resident since early 2024, which provides cloud technology services. The investigation found the American Mirantis Inc. is connected to the Russian legal entity Mirantis IT, which after the start of the full-scale invasion remained registered in the Russian Federation. Between July 2024 and August 2025 the Ukrainian company booked 20 employees. Company representatives stated the Russian legal entity effectively ceased operational activity after 2022, but cannot be liquidated due to legal restrictions in Russia. The article also mentions LLC Laboratory of Information Systems, a developer of software for managing the radio frequency spectrum. According to hromadske, during the period studied the company booked three employees. Journalists found in its ownership structure a link to a Russian legal entity and a Russian citizen. The Diia.City project office explained that the share previously owned by Russian persons, according to their information, was transferred to a French company, but the corresponding changes were not reflected in the Ukrainian registry. Transparency International Ukraine legal adviser Nataliia Sichevliuk emphasized the need to establish who actually controls the business, influences its decisions, and receives profits. The Diia.City project office reports that checks are based on information companies disclose and data from state registries. If a prohibited connection is found, a procedure to lose resident status may begin. At the same time, checking indirect corporate links and applying sanctions may require involvement of other state bodies. The investigation does not automatically establish the illegality of every case of booking or residency. At the same time, the examples given raise questions about how the state verifies the actual activities of applicants for special conditions, assesses their criticality for the economy, and detects indirect corporate ties with Russia.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Працівники казино отримували бронювання через Дія.City: а що, так було можна?". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.
