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A high-profile scandal has erupted in Germany, which may have consequences for the Ukrainian gambling sector. On October 6, law enforcement agencies in the Federal Republic of Germany detained August Hanning, who headed the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) from 1998 to 2005. He is suspected of espionage on behalf of a foreign state. He was detained along with his former subordinate, Manfred D., who is accused of aiding and abetting.
StopKor analysts noted that Hanning's name is still present on the official website of the American holding company Nevada Gaming Holding. This company announced the purchase of the owner of the online casino Cosmolot, which is linked to businessman Serhiy Tokarev. On the holding's "About Us" page, Hanning is presented as Chairman of the Board, and his biography includes a mention of his leadership of the BND.
According to German media outlet ZDFheute, the 80-year-old Hanning was detained by officers of the Federal Criminal Police Office. The Federal General Prosecutor's Office stated that the suspect is accused of attempted high treason and intelligence activities. Manfred D. was also taken into custody.
News agency ORF reports that investigators believe Manfred D. passed approximately 2,000 documents to Hanning for money at least until June 2022, many of which were classified. The former BND head is suspected of using these materials in his private consulting activities and preparing an analytical note at the request of an employee of a foreign intelligence service. Hanning himself denies the charges, and the presumption of innocence applies to him until a court decision is made.
The prosecution has not officially disclosed which specific country is involved. Media outlet SRF notes that the case probably does not concern Russia. Stuttgarter Zeitung reports that investigators are checking Hanning's contacts with an agent from Azerbaijan. However, official Baku refuted these claims in a comment to Euronews. The spokesperson for the German government, in response to a question from Berliner-Zeitung journalists, stated that "nothing can be ruled out".
The detention also attracted attention due to Hanning's previous public statements. In 2024, in an interview with The Telegraph, he stated that "Berlin underestimates the danger from Moscow".
Arnulf Damerau is listed as the President and CEO of the Nevada Gaming Holding. At the end of October 2024, the company officially announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in Cosmolot (Spaceiks LLC). According to the company's own data, negotiations on the deal began at the Munich Security Conference in February 2024.
Industry publication dev.ua previously reported that the holding had likely acquired Cosmolot as early as the summer of 2023. Oleksandr Kuzmenko quotes Arnulf Damerau: "A year ago, I invested funds from our family office in Spaceiks to explore the market and increase my stake, reinvesting dividends in other Ukrainian IT companies, as well as engaging in charity".
From open data, it is currently unknown exactly when Hanning took up the position of chairman of the board of directors, whether he holds a stake in the holding, and whether he could have influenced decisions regarding the Ukrainian business. The mention of his name on the website does not imply Cosmolot's involvement in the case, so analysts continue to examine the registration documents of Nevada Gaming Holding and affiliated companies.
Cosmolot has long been in the media spotlight. In 2022, it emerged that Serhiy Tokarev, who was called the founder of the casino, was likely placed under National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) sanctions in 2016, and later removed from them. According to OBOZ.UA: "Токарєв відомий як засновник піратського онлайн-казино. Після заборони проєкту в рф він переїхав до України, де і продовжив займатися гральним бізнесом. За даними українських ЗМІ, після переїзду до Києва Токарєв заснував цілу низку онлайн-казино. 2016 року він потрапив під санкції РНБО: проти нього ввели 10 обмежень, включаючи блокування активів. 2020 року Токарєв вийшов з-під санкцій і розпочав активну роботу з відновлення репутації. Також, за даними ЗМІ, з 2016 року він 172 рази літав до Москви та відвідував анексований Крим в обхід українського державного кордону" (Tokarev is known as the founder of a pirate online casino. After the project was banned in the Russian Federation, he moved to Ukraine, where he continued to engage in the gambling business. According to Ukrainian media, after moving to Kyiv, Tokarev founded a whole series of online casinos. In 2016, he was placed under NSDC sanctions: 10 restrictions were introduced against him, including asset freezing. In 2020, Tokarev was removed from sanctions and began active work on restoring his reputation. Also, according to media reports, since 2016 he flew to Moscow 172 times and visited annexed Crimea bypassing the Ukrainian state border).
In February 2024, the Bureau of Economic Security (BEB) seized UAH 700 million from the accounts of a gambling company suspected of tax evasion. According to "Economic Truth", it concerned "Kosmolot", but the company itself denied this information. In April 2026, the regulator PlayCity revoked the license of "Spaceiks", but the court suspended this decision.
In July this year, investigators from the "Vidsich" project reported that Serhiy Tokarev's firm ROOSH (RUUSH LLC) is a resident of "Diia.City", created during the leadership of the Ministry of Digital Transformation by Mykhailo Fedorov. The post stated: "Для того, щоб не було зайвих питань, росіянин Сергій Токарєв навіть купив румунський паспорт і зайшов в "Дія.City" під румунським громадянством. Російське громадянство, казино "Космолот" і санкції РНБО Олександр Борняков і Михайло Федоров не коментують" (So that there would be no unnecessary questions, Russian Serhiy Tokarev even bought a Romanian passport and entered 'Diia.City' under Romanian citizenship. Russian citizenship, the 'Kosmolot' casino, and NSDC sanctions are not commented on by Oleksandr Borniakov and Mykhailo Fedorov).
Separately, media "Antikor" linked the Cosmobet brand (NeuroLink LLC) to Tokarev, but the company stated that it has no connection to either Cosmolot or Tokarev.
To date, StopKor has no evidence that Cosmolot, its owners, or managers are linked to Russian or any other intelligence services. However, the coincidence of circumstances raises the following questions:
Requests are being prepared for the SBU, the state agency PlayCity, and the companies Nevada Gaming Holding and Spaceiks LLC. A major analytical investigation into the owners of Cosmolot and their international connections will be published at the beginning of next week.
Previously, the Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, again raised the issue of the operation of the gambling market and the possible tax evasion by its participants. In his Facebook post, he stated that the schemes that the authorities fought against under the previous leadership of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and PlayCity are allegedly still in operation. Hetmantsev's status as head of the relevant parliamentary committee is confirmed on the official portal of the Verkhovna Rada.
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