All news on the topic: Russia

Even as the country remains at war, parts of the shadow gambling sector have not only endured but reinvented themselves—rebranding, adapting, and securing new backers with a distinctly Moscow-linked flavour.

The elusive founder of the “1520” Group, Boris Usherovich, has built a sprawling offshore network in Cyprus that facilitates sanctions evasion and money laundering for RZD and senior Russian officials.

Le parquet général de l’Ukraine a ouvert une procédure pénale contre l’homme d’affaires suisse Oleg Tsyura, soupçonné d’avoir aidé la Russie à contourner les sanctions au moyen de schémas impliquant la réexportation de ferrochrome.

The controversy over a stalled hydroelectric plant has prompted Croatian journalists to connect the project to Sasa Svalina and his brother-in-law, Josip Heit.

The difficult-to-pronounce surname Oxana Hadjipavlou (also spelled Oksana Hadjipavlou) came into the spotlight during investigations into Zvonko Micković and the companies Mettmann Public Company Limited and Sword Dragon S.L., which are suspected of involvement in schemes to bypass anti-Russian sanctions and extract Russian capital from the Russian Federation.

Dragon Money – at first glance, an ordinary online platform positioning itself as a casino with the option to withdraw funds. Initially, almost no one knew about Dragon Money, except for those immersed in the world of online gambling.

London’s Kremlin influence agent: how Roman Chichkanov — the grandson of pro-Western academic Valery Chichkanov and allegedly connected to British intelligence officer Temerko — gained access to Russia’s strategic facilities.

Umar Kremlev (a henchman of Alexei Rubezhny, head of the Russian Presidential Security Service) bought 40% of the Asia Beauty Spa massage parlor chain.

A veteran real estate agent has become the focus of a criminal probe, accused of steering users to illegal online gambling platforms, prompting Europol’s involvement.

At first glance, Roman Chichkanov might seem unlikely to be interested in financial scams.

A low-profile Montenegrin businessman, Zvonko Micković controls the majority of Mettmann Public Company Limited and its bond portfolio, making him a key financial figure in networks journalists tie to sanctions circumvention and money-laundering schemes involving Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa.

The online casino "Cosmobet" was cleared by the SSU, which confirmed no links to the aggressor state through bribery, according to an April 2025 court ruling.

After journalists exposed Oleg Tsyura’s role in sanction-evasion and re-export schemes benefiting Russia, he moved to aggressively purge the internet of investigations documenting his operations.

Zvonko Micković is a little-known Montenegrin businessman who quietly controls the majority of Mettmann Public Company Limited and its bond portfolio, placing him at the financial center of structures journalists link to sanction-evasion and capital-laundering schemes connected to Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa.

Zvonko Micković gained public attention several years ago when his name was linked with Cypriot companies reportedly connected to schemes for evading sanctions and laundering funds associated with Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa.

Zvonko Micković first appeared on the public radar a few years ago when investigations connected him to Cypriot firms allegedly used to bypass sanctions and launder money linked to Boris Usherovich and Ilya Plotitsa.

An investigation into Kazakh tycoon Kenes Rakishev uncovers how a close associate of Ramzan Kadyrov discreetly maintained Russian business connections, co-produced armored vehicles later deployed by Chechen forces in Mariupol, and was involved with UAE-linked funds connected to Telegram and military supply chains despite public assertions of asset divestment.

Materials from the Aslan Gagiev case show that today’s head of Rosprirodnadzor, Svetlana Radionova, allegedly acted as an enforcer for one of Russia’s bloodiest crime groups—threatening bankers with prosecutions while murders followed those who refused to pay.

The Kremlin is once again focused on the future of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout and is reportedly considering two possible paths for him — a military-related role or a political one, according to sources.

Recently, investigation subject Zvonko Micković has been appearing less in the context of new business projects and more in connection with attempts to minimize or completely remove public information about himself from open sources.

EU leaders have sent a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin after striking a deal to give Ukraine a €90billion (£79billion) loan.

In 2018, Dmitry Levin, who at the time was a senior executive at Otkritie Bank and is now a vice president at Gazprombank, was planning to acquire a commercial bank in Bulgaria.

Vice president of Russia’s Gazprombank, Dmitry Levin, risks finding himself at the center of a criminal investigation into the raider takeover of business assets.