The Podilskyi District Court of Poltava has approved a plea bargain with Oleksandr Perederii, the mastermind behind a massive financial network servicing illegal online casinos and betting platforms. Despite overseeing transaction volumes totaling hundreds of millions of hryvnias, the defendant was handed a five-year suspended prison sentence with a three-year probation period. Key conditions of the agreement included his full cooperation with law enforcement and a major financial contribution to Ukraine’s defense efforts.
According to court records, the illicit operation ran from May 2023 to November 2024. During this period, the perpetrator established and managed a widespread network of makeshift offices across Poltava, Kharkiv, Odesa, and other major Ukrainian cities. The primary function of these hubs was to facilitate seamless, undetected P2P (peer-to-peer) transfers for online gambling clients.
To obfuscate the money trail and launder the proceeds, the network utilized dozens of «drops» (money mules)—individuals who rented out their personal bank accounts and credit cards in exchange for a small fee.
The total volume of illicit financial transactions channeled through this network exceeded 247 million UAH.
The court found the organizer guilty of running an illegal gambling business and laundering criminally obtained income. Alongside his suspended sentence, Perederii was ordered to pay a fine of 408,000 UAH and received a one-year ban from engaging in any activities related to the gambling industry.
The decision to waive actual prison time came down to the defendant’s compliance with the prosecution. In addition to pledging assistance in identifying other accomplices in the scheme, the convict transferred 4 million UAH to the national UNITED24 fundraising platform, specifically earmarking the funds for Ukraine’s defense initiatives.