Zelensky introduced sanctions against “Royal Pay Europe”, a company related to the Russian bookmaker “1xBet”

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, implemented the decision of the National Security and Defense Council on the introduction of economic sanctions against Royal Pay Europe.

This is stated on the website of the Office of the President.

Sanctions against the company registered in Latvia will be valid for five years.

The assets of Royal Pay Europe will be blocked, it will be forbidden to withdraw its capital outside of Ukraine and to participate in the privatization and leasing of state property. The company will also stop fulfilling its financial and economic obligations and limit the rights to dispose of securities.

According to open data, Royal Pay is owned by Russian citizen Sergey Kondratenko. According to the Russian Forbes, this person is directly related to the bookmaker 1xBet with a turnover of about $2 billion.

• On August 5, President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to a petition to ban the 1xBet bookmaker from operating in Ukraine. He instructed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and law enforcement officers to consider this issue.
• The initiator of the petition, Vasyl Lebedev, made the petition public on July 8. He demanded that the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries conduct an inspection of the work of this gambling operator in Ukraine, record violations in his actions and ban the work of 1xBet.
• On September 7, 2022, the Commission for the Regulation of Gambling and Lotteries canceled the licenses of the TBK company for bookmaking activities and online casinos. In Ukraine, this company uses the brand of the Russian bookmaker 1xBet.