The Kyiv Court of Appeal has partially granted an appeal by the Prosecutor General’s Office, freezing 103.1 million UAH held in the Sense Bank account of Diamond Pay LLC. The company is linked to Yevhen Yakhniy, a former member of Ukraine’s gambling regulator (KRAIL), and the funds are allegedly tied to an illicit online casino operation.
The panel of judges overturned a February 13 ruling by the Shevchenkivskyi District Court, which had previously denied the prosecution’s request to seize the assets. The appellate court ruled that the funds meet the legal criteria for physical evidence under Article 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine, as they are directly linked to criminal activity and are crucial for the ongoing investigation.
The asset freeze was executed as part of a criminal investigation led by the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB). The probe involves charges under three articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine:
Illegal gambling operations (Part 2, Art. 203-2);
Large-scale tax evasion (Part 3, Art. 212);
Money laundering (Part 3, Art. 209).
According to investigators, the suspects utilized bank accounts belonging to Spacex LLC to accept payments from online casino players and distribute winnings. These transactions were reportedly masked using peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers and digital wallets, bypassing official accounting and tax reporting systems.
The court files reveal that on January 22, 2024, law enforcement initially froze Spacex LLC’s accounts at Cominbank. However, in an apparent attempt to safeguard the assets, more than 103 million UAH was transferred the very next day to Diamond Pay LLC’s account at Sense Bank.
The transaction was labeled as «Funds for further transfer according to the agreement.» The prosecution argues that this move was a deliberate attempt to launder the illicit proceeds and shield them from law enforcement seizure.
Context: In July 2024, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) revoked Diamond Pay’s license to provide financial payment services. The central bank cited the submission of fraudulent data during the licensing process and uncovered ties between the company’s owner and the Russian Federation.