The Podilskyi District Court of Poltava has approved a plea bargain with Oleksandr Perederiy, the organizer of a massive office network that processed transactions for illegal online casinos and betting platforms with a total financial turnover of a quarter-billion hryvnias. According to the court ruling, the organizer received a probation period, agreed to cooperate with investigators, and committed to transferring 4 million UAH to the Armed Forces of Ukraine through the UNITED24 platform.
The investigation established that from May 2023 to November 2024, the convict established and managed an extensive network of underground offices. These hubs operated in Poltava, Kharkiv, Odesa, and other Ukrainian cities. The primary function of these centers was to process and service P2P payments for players of unlicensed gambling websites.
To conceal the illicit financial operations, the organizers utilized a network of «drops»—individuals who, for financial compensation, handed over access to their personal bank cards and accounts. Throughout the scheme’s operation, the total volume of transactions funneled through these cards reached 247.46 million UAH.
The convict directly managed several office locations operating under codenames such as «TOKYO», «MONO», «TORONTO», «BROOKLYN», «VEGAS», «RIO», and «LAKERS». His responsibilities included:
Coordinating the workflow of administrators and operators;
Overseeing the recruitment of new «drops»;
Cashing out the received funds and subsequently converting them into cryptocurrency;
Distributing profit shares to a co-organizer.
Court Ruling: Oleksandr Perederiy was found guilty under Part 2 of Art. 203-2 (illegal organization of gambling games) and Part 3 of Art. 209 (legalization of proceeds of crime on a large scale) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The court handed down a final sentence of 5 years of imprisonment, a one-year ban on engaging in activities related to the organization of gambling, and a fine of 408,000 UAH.
At the same time, based on Article 75 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the defendant was released from serving his primary prison sentence, receiving a 3-year probation period instead. During this time, he is required to report regularly to probation authorities.
The mitigated sentence was made possible due to the signed plea bargain. Under its terms, the convict committed to assisting investigators in exposing other participants of the criminal scheme and transferring 4 million UAH to the UNITED24 platform (earmarked for «DEFENSE»). He must transfer the first half of the amount within three months after the verdict takes legal effect, and the remaining balance by the end of 2026.