Foreigners brought in for bank cards: online casino busted in Kazakhstan

According to the investigation, the online casino, created on the basis of the Club GG Poker mobile platform, was coordinated by Kazakhstani citizens located in Georgia.

“This scheme allowed the organizers to be concealed, made it difficult to track cash flows, and enabled the use of accounts and communication tools registered to foreign citizens to service illegal activities,” the FMA said.

The illegal gaming platform operated around the clock and allowed users to take part in online poker gambling with cash bets and withdrawal of winnings.

To attract new participants, the organizers used social media, messengers and advertising tools. As a result, more than 20,000 users were involved in the online casino’s activities.

Foreigners were brought to Kazakhstan for bank cards

The investigation also found that the organizers had created an extensive network of so-called droppers — people in whose names bank accounts were opened to carry out financial transactions.

For this purpose, the suspects arranged for foreign citizens to enter Kazakhstan. In exchange for payments of up to $400, bank cards were issued in their names and mobile banking was connected.

According to the FMA, more than 60 drop accounts were used in the illegal scheme.

Apartment, cars and 158 million tenge seized

According to preliminary data, the amount received from players exceeded 7.5 billion tenge.

With court authorization, an apartment in Almaty, three cars and 158 million tenge held in the bank accounts of droppers were seized.

The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.