Scandal in KRAIL: MTB Bank and Evgeniy Yakhnia’s companies found themselves at the center of corruption schemes involving the gambling business, causing billions of dollars in damage to the budget during the war
The detention of Ivan Rudoy, head of the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries (CRAIL), became a high-profile corruption scandal. The Joker telegram channel revealed new details indicating Rudoy’s close collaboration with Yevgeny Yakhniy, a member of KRAIL, who, despite obvious charges, still remains at large. The Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine has already drawn attention to the activities of Yakhniy and his connections with MTB Bank. BEB's request for banking information confirms that the investigation is trying to find out all the details of possible corruption schemes.
The editors decided to investigate this story, which exposes a long-term corruption scheme that brought in billions of hryvnia, but bypassed the state budget.
The role of X Pay Group in CRAIL schemes
Evgeniy Yakhniy, before his appointment to KRAIL, was officially the owner of the technology company X Pay Group, specializing in processing non-cash payments. Before entering government service, he de jure resigned from the ownership, but sources claim that de facto control of the company remained with him.
X Pay Group provided payment processing for online casinos through banks, in particular MTB Bank. It was this financial institution that became one of the key nodes in a possible corruption scheme.
How did the scheme work?
Online casinos paid a commission to the payment operator Diamond Pay in the amount of 1.8–2.2% of each transaction.
Diamond Pay transferred 1.5–1.7% to MTB Bank.
MTB Bank kept about 0.5% of the profit for itself and paid 0.1% for processing to other banks, for example, FUIB.
For each transaction, MTB gave 0.3% to X Pay Group Yakhnia.
As a result, Yahnia's company received a stable income for every bet made through the system, which he also took care of as a member of KRAIL.
The key role of MTB Bank
MTB Bank has found itself at the center of investigations due to possible corruption schemes covering a significant part of the illegal gambling market. In particular, special attention is paid to the figures of the bank’s leaders, including Yuri Kralov, chairman of the board, as well as Oleg Prilutsky and Dmitry Yakovlev.
Yuri Kralov, as chairman of the bank's board, has many years of experience in the financial sector. However, his activities raise questions, because it was under his leadership that the bank served schemes associated with the Diamond Pay system. Oleg Prilutsky, as sources note, was responsible for the transfer of shadow funds to the bank’s management and its partners, in particular, Yevgeny Yakhniy. Dmitry Yakovlev, in turn, acted as a “black accountant”, coordinating the operations of the bank’s shadow cash desk.
MTB Bank, not having its own processing, used X Pay Group software to process payments. According to the investigation, this allowed Yakhnia's company to receive stable profits from transactions related to the gambling business. The uniqueness of the situation lies in the fact that MTB Bank also depended on the processing services of other banks, such as FUIB, using their software to exchange data with Visa/MasterCard payment systems.
Thus, X Pay Group acted as an intermediary, collecting significant funds from each transaction. This creates a direct connection between the financial flows of the gambling business and the activities of CRAIL. The bank's dependence on Yakhnia's technology indicates an obvious conflict of interest and requires further investigation.
Scandals involving Yakhnia
Yevgeny Yakhniy has repeatedly appeared in scandals related to corruption, financial fraud and conflicts of interest. Here are the loudest of them:
Connections with Diamond Pay: According to journalist Evgeny Plinsky, the Diamond Pay payment system, through which game payments were processed, had connections with Russian structures. The Yakhnia family received significant income from the company. From April 5, 2023 to May 17, 2023, Evgeniy Yakhniy, as an individual entrepreneur (PE), allegedly received 4.4 million UAH from Diamond Pay LLC for “consulting services”, and in 2024 his wife Lilia received another 3.8 million UAH for “design work”. These financial transactions raise serious doubts about their legality and transparency. According to investigations, between April and May 2024, Diamond Pay processed payments through systems associated with Russian financial institutions. This became known on April 12, 2024, when journalists exposed the company’s connections with dubious structures.
Conflict of interest in KRAIL: As the owner of X Pay Group, Yakhniy had a direct interest in regulating the gambling market, which he controlled. This conflict was repeatedly the subject of investigations, but Yakhniy escaped punishment.
Closure of disciplinary proceedings: In August 2024, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine initiated proceedings against Yakhniy, but after a few months the case was closed without explanation. This decision aroused suspicion in society and among experts.
Why is Yakhniy still at large?
Despite numerous accusations and obvious conflicts of interest, disciplinary proceedings against Yevgeny Yakhniy were closed by the Cabinet of Ministers in October 2024. This decision raises numerous questions about the transparency and effectiveness of law enforcement. The Joker telegram channel notes in its publications that Yakhniy used not only his position, but also a political roof, which allowed him to avoid responsibility.
According to Antikor, the Diamond Pay company, through which gaming payments were made, had connections with Russian structures. This makes the situation even more scandalous, since the activities of Yakhniy and his companies may have contributed to the transfer of funds to dubious sources during the war.
In addition, the disciplinary proceedings were closed despite the presence of evidence indicating multimillion-dollar flows of money that were deposited in structures associated with Yahniy. The question remains open: who and why turned a blind eye to these schemes, allowing Yakhniy to avoid not only punishment, but also public condemnation.
Recently, information appeared on the Joker telegram channel that the Bureau of Economic Security of Ukraine (BEB) had taken on Yevgeny Yakhniy. BEB contacted MTB Bank with a request to provide information, which is a bank secret, on the accounts of Evgeniy Yakhniy and Anna Yakhniy. The request includes data on the availability of accounts, fund balances, transactions under a power of attorney and any other financial transactions from the moment the accounts are opened until the time the request is received. BEB also requested additional information about possible transfer schemes related to gambling business activities. Such attention from law enforcement agencies indicates the seriousness of the allegations of corruption of which Yakhnia is suspected.
The StopCor editors strive to comprehensively understand the situation, so we turned to X Pay Group for comment.
The case of Rudoy and Yakhnia demonstrates how corruption schemes in KRAIL undermine trust in institutions and cause billions of dollars in damage to the budget. events and keep up to date.
