WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao Gaming Authority granted a license to the company behind international betting giant 1xBet even though its own assessors suspected the business had multiple owners and were still seeking information about its ownership structure, according to leaked documents examined by Follow the Money.
FTM reports that Ukrainian national Ihor Hniedash was listed as both chief executive and owner of Caecus NV, the Curaçao-based company behind 1xBet.
However, publicly available information has long associated 1xBet with three Russians: Roman Semiokhin, Dmitry Kazorin and Sergey Karshkov, who died in 2023.
According to FTM, regulators themselves noticed the discrepancy.
In their final assessment, Curaçao Gaming Authority officials reportedly wrote that they suspected 1xBet had “multiple owners.”
They sought additional information from Hniedash concerning his possible business relationship with the three Russians associated with the company's founding.
The information was not provided before the license was issued, according to FTM.
Nevertheless, the CGA granted the company a license in 2024.
The case is particularly sensitive because 1xBet has faced regulatory action in several international markets.
FTM reports that the company has been associated with illegal gambling and advertising practices in countries including the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom. The controversies have resulted in criminal proceedings and the termination of sponsorship arrangements with major British football clubs.
The Dutch Gambling Authority fined 1xBet in 2019 for illegally targeting gamblers in the Netherlands.
Pheijffer, the forensic-accountancy professor consulted by FTM, criticized the broader practice of issuing licenses while important information remained outstanding.
He also stressed the particular money-laundering vulnerability of the gambling sector, especially where cryptocurrency transactions are involved.
1xBet and Ronnie de Mei, director of Capital Trust Corporation NV, which represents the gambling company in Curaçao, told FTM they could not respond to assumptions based on documents they had not been given an opportunity to examine.
The CGA has defended its overall licensing approach by pointing to the transition toward Curaçao's new gambling regime and the decision to allow operators time to progressively comply with new requirements.
Source: Follow the Money, “Casino Secrets,” David Davidson, Sjors Hofstede and Lukas Kotkamp; Curaçao reporting by Dick Drayer.