Ukraine’s Znak ua says YouTube investigation linked Diamond Pay to illegal gambling flows

Ukrainian outlet Znak ua has published a YouTube investigation into Diamond Pay and a payment network that, according to the report, processed transactions for illegal iGaming by disguising casino payments as video game purchases. For PSPs and acquirers, the key point is not the scandal itself but the mechanics: MCC code substitution, networked processing, and the kind of documentary and reputational issues that can end with a license being pulled.

1. Diamond Pay lost its Ukrainian central bank license in 2024 because of false information in documents, business reputation issues, and links to Russia. The report says the wider network also included EPay and “Ukrfinstandart,” with ties to entrepreneurs Maksym Sigalov and Rasim Tagiev.
2. According to the investigation, the network serviced illegal iGaming and masked casino transactions as video game purchases by replacing MCC codes. That is the sort of scheme that matters to acquiring teams because, on paper, it is just merchant categorization; in practice, it is how prohibited volume moves through payment rails.
3. The report says about 238 billion грн ($5,35 billion) may have flowed through the network in 2022–2024, while the total volume of the related payment infrastructure is estimated at almost 275 billion грн ($6,1 billion). The network’s earnings are estimated at 4,4 billion hryvnias ($100 million).
4. Journalists named 1xBet, MelBet, MostBet, Favbet, Euro Casino, Joker, Rino Casino, El Toro, Dragon Casino and others among the operators allegedly serviced by the network. Their combined assumed monthly GGR was put at almost $13 million.
5. The report says the main contribution came from the operator Allwin, which Sigalov allegedly personally controls through Favbet together with Andrey Matyukha, the operator’s founder. It also notes that Sigalov and Matyukha both own property in Marbella, Spain.

The investigation also points to Russia-related connections: Igor Sigalov, Maksym’s brother, lives in Moscow and is linked to Inbet; Maksym’s wife reportedly described herself on social media as a Russian citizen; and former Diamond Pay head Iraklii Dzhikia, who registered Favbet trademarks, held Russian citizenship. For banks and PSPs, this is the usual ugly mix of signals that turns a merchant file from “commercially interesting” into “why are we still touching this?”