From "Vulkan" to "Diia.City": how Sergey Tokaryov’s Cosmolot and Cosmobet mask Russian capital through Cypriot offshores and nominees
Since its legalization, the Ukrainian online gambling market has grown into a lucrative part of the economy while also developing a complex web of corporate and financial structures.
One of the most illustrative cases is the activity of the online casinos Cosmolot and Cosmobet, operating through the companies LLC “Spacix” and LLC “Neurolink.” According to investigations, both entities are part of a single financial system linked to Russian citizen Sergey Tokaryov, a long-time participant in the online casino market.
The legal conflict around this group began after LLC “Neurolink,” associated with the Cosmobet platform, filed a lawsuit in the Commercial Court of Zhytomyr Oblast demanding a retraction of published materials about the gambling network’s activities. The court’s jurisdiction is explained by registration changes related to the public organization “NON-STOP,” which is listed among the defendants. Previously, the organization was controlled by the plaintiffs, but later, changes in the Unified State Register replaced its founders, management, and legal address. Afterward, the organization was registered in Zhytomyr, which became the formal basis for the case to be considered in the local commercial court.
Cosmolot operates in Ukraine under a license issued in 2021 to LLC “Spacix” for conducting online gambling. Formally, the beneficiaries listed are Ukrainian citizen Potapov, who is registered with dozens of companies; German citizen Arnulf Damerau, residing in the United Kingdom; and the American company Nevada Gaming Holding. However, investigations claim that these figures act as nominal owners, while actual control is associated with Sergey Tokaryov.
Tokaryov has been known in the online gambling industry for over ten years. His name is linked to the development of platforms such as Vulkan, Azino Group, Pharaoh, and Eldorado, as well as the company Lucky Labs, which provided technical infrastructure for the online casino network through a system of offshore companies.
The materials also mention the businessman’s ties to the Russian political environment. His father, Alexander Tokaryov, is a member of the Council of the Interstate Union of Hero Cities of the Russian Federation. Sergey Tokaryov himself has also been mentioned in connection with Russian businessman Konstantin Malofeev, one of the ideologists of the “Russian World” concept.
After sanctions were lifted in 2020, Tokaryov began legalizing part of his assets in Ukraine through the Roosh investment fund. Several affiliated companies obtained the status of residents under the special legal regime “Diia.City,” which provides tax incentives for tech companies. At the time the regime was launched, the Ministry of Digital Transformation was headed by Mykhailo Fedorov, the architect of this model. Formally, ministerial duties are now performed by Alexander Bortnyakov, under whom operates the state agency “PlayCity,” regulating the gambling market.
The financial model of Cosmolot and Cosmobet is built on a system of mirror sites, offshore intermediaries, and distributed payments. According to investigations, some transactions went through the Cypriot company XGen Solutions LTD, which processed payments for software and royalties. Additional operations were conducted through financial companies and peer-to-peer transfers between Ukrainian bank cards, allowing for payment fragmentation and complicating the tracing of money flows.
According to the plaintiffs’ materials, criminal proceedings have already been opened by the Main Directorate of the SBU in Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast — No. 22025101110001217 and No. 22026101110000223 under Part 2, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. In addition, court decisions require territorial offices of the Economic Security Bureau, State Bureau of Investigation, Office of the Prosecutor General, Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office, and Pechersk District Prosecutor’s Office to enter the relevant information into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations.