Azerbaijan police shut down illegal online betting ring tied to Xbet and MostBet, citing 10 million manat turnover

Azerbaijan’s Interior Ministry says its Cybercrime Department has disrupted a group running illegal online betting and gambling through Xbet and MostBet. For PSPs, acquirers, and banking partners, the useful part is not the arrest itself; it is the mechanics: Telegram-led acquisition, rented local infrastructure, and payments moved through cards and phones.

1. The operation was run by Zaur Narimanov and Fuad Narimanov, who allegedly used a Telegram page called AzeCash to collect illegal bets. According to the ministry, they rented an apartment in Baku’s Khatai district, where staff were placed and given equipment, bank cards, and phones.
2. Police also detained Orkhan Guseynov, Zaur Shirinov, and Emin Mammadov during the operation. The case was built around activity routed through the Xbet and MostBet platforms, which the ministry says were used for illegal online betting and gambling.
3. Investigators said the group generated around 10 million manat in illegal financial turnover, and that the proceeds were laundered using various methods. That combination — wagering intake plus attempted layering of funds — is exactly the sort of pattern payment teams should treat as a source of transaction monitoring and merchant due diligence risk.
4. A criminal case has been opened. Zaur and Fuad Narimanov, along with the other defendants, have been charged, and the court ordered detention and other preventive measures.