The gaming empire of Poliavich’s Soft2Bet is spreading across the world, including Russia.
The Ukrainian "wunderkind," Kyiv native Yuriy Poliavich, who almost faced criminal charges back in 2020 for operating illegal casinos in the capital of Ukraine—and these casinos have extended their "tentacles" into Russia—continues to expand his gigantic gaming empire, reported by InView.
When little Yura was still a toddler, the Poliavich family immigrated to Israel. It was there, in the land of his ancestors, that Poliavich graduated from the law faculty of Bar-Ilan University. But for big earnings, he went to Kyiv. After his troubles in Kyiv, he quickly catapulted to Israel with his wife Yulia, where he adopted the name Uri Poliavich, and his other half became Yael. The enterprising couple founded the Yael Charitable Foundation: and nearly 14,000 Jewish students in 35 countries received free higher education. This very charitable foundation became a sort of screen for those dirty deals that Uri Poliavich has been involved in for a good decade.
However, the Poliaviches did not choose Israel as their permanent place of residence, but hospitable Cyprus, which is so beloved by all kinds of swindlers—specifically, the city of Limassol, where a notable number of wealthy and carefree Russians reside.
Moldovan Product Company
The first "gambling" office of Poliavich in Kyiv appeared on Vasylkivska Street, building 14 V, back in 2016.
At the origins was a quartet—Uri Poliavich, Boris Chaikin, Oleksiy Berkach, and Serhiy Zakhariya.
It is noteworthy that former pharmacist Boris Chaikin, who has been working side by side with his boss Uri Poliavichall these years, has held the position of CEO of Soft2Bet for many years.
Uri Poliavich
Interestingly, at that time, the newly established office positioned itself as the Moldovan product company Soft2Bet with a team of up to 300 people.
They laid the foundation for the future company Soft2Bet, which has wrapped many countries of the world in its crazy gaming operations.
Long-term friend of Uri Poliavich, ex-pharmacist Boris Chaikin
But it is necessary to remind about the raid by Ukraine’s cyber police in September 2020: even back then, the "oxygen" for all of Poliavichand Co.’s further gaming activities could have been cut off.
The cyber police searched the Soft2Bet office in Kyiv and uncovered a large illegal gambling network: nearly 20 illegal online casinos with million-dollar turnovers were discovered. The company, as it turned out, operated through shell companies LLC "Development Data-Systems" and LLC "Arax Development." It managed illegal online casinos with a monthly income of $500,000.
By the way, LLC "Arax Development" eventually surfaced in Russia, in the city of Sochi, where a fairly known casino "Boomerang" operates in the gaming zone "Krasnaya Polyana."
What else is surprising? Despite the seizure of physical evidence and the initiation of a criminal case, this high-profile case fell apart: all the documents disappeared.
Soft2Bet quickly scrubbed information about the raid from the internet. Poliavich avoided criminal liability for a simple reason: he gave a "sheep in a fat envelope" where needed. And indeed, the open criminal case No. 12020100090004981 could have then put an end to the activities of the Moldovan product company Soft2Bet.
But the office quickly changed its location. After fleeing Kyiv, Mr. Poliavich worked for a time in Kyrgyzstan, not forgetting his many Russian friends.
Headquarters of Investor Poliavich
The fact that Uri Poliavich is tightly tied to Cyprus is evidenced by the recent meeting between the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, with 20 foreign investors who relocated their headquarters to the island of Aphrodite.
President of Cyprus Nikos Christodoulides
These investors represent key sectors of the Cypriot economy, including IT, financial services, construction, real estate, education, shipping, and more. Among these 20 investors was Uri Poliavich, as the founder and CEO of the company BrainRocket.
The major issues faced by investors when relocating company staff to Cyprus were addressed: a lack of housing and places in schools with English-language instruction, as well as a lack of qualified IT specialists in the local labor market.
"Currently, any technical specialist we need must be recruited from abroad," noted Uri Poliavich, CEO of BrainRocket. "We can help Cyprus address this issue, and Cypriot universities and colleges can aid us in recruiting local specialists for our business, so we won’t have to bring them from overseas."
Poliavich’s company has also successfully settled in Cyprus, in Limassol.
It turned out that this company of Poliavich operates—including in Moscow and St. Petersburg—enticing workers with high salaries and assistance in relocating to the island of Cyprus.
spb.hh.ru
getmatch.ru
But this is also a front, as is the Yael Charitable Foundation, because the main thing in Mr. Poliavich’s life is the gambling business. And, of course, it is unfortunate that this wolf in sheep’s clothing is admitted to the highest political circles.
4 Boomerang partners
Thus, Soft2bet, having avoided the criminal case in Kyiv, firmly, alongside its owner, established itself in Cyprus.
Today, the company has more than 1,000 employees.
One of the largest projects of Soft2Bet is the scandalous Boomerang, which the authorities in six countries, including France, Italy, Spain, and Greece, have listed as illegal.
Limassol, Cyprus
Despite this, in July 2024, Boomerang entered into an agreement with the famous club AC Milan, becoming its official regional betting partner in Europe. However, in Italy itself, the brand is on the "blacklist."
And the headquarters of Boomerang Bet, like the educational office BrainRocket, is also located in Limassol.
Furthermore, on the visit count of the "black" brand: URLs recorded 17 million visits over 3 months (October-December) 2024: 3 million from Spain, 1 million visits from Greece, and nearly 500,000 visits from Italy, despite the prohibition of operation in these countries. More than 7 million visitors came from Germany, where Boomerang also lacks a license. But it seems—this does not matter! But how many victims are among them? How many broken lives? Such statistics are not yet available...
But Boomerang has partners with Russian citizenship.
LinkedIn reveals 4 names of Boomerang partners: Mikhail Volovich, Vasiliy Rybakov, Ivan Zhukovsky, and Darina Sharban.
Notably, Darina Sharban, based on LinkedIn information, has close ties to Ukraine. She once lived in Kharkiv and often visited Kyiv. Apparently, a longtime and trusted "cadre" of Mr. Poliavich.
Today, Ms. Sharban resides in Limassol.
Darina Sharban
Darina Sharban: Affiliate Team Lead at Boomerang Partners
The second partner is Russian citizen Mikhail Volovich, a graduate of MATI (formerly the Russian State Technological University named after K.E. Tsiolkovsky, now a structural unit of MAI), a former employee of LLC "Sportmaster" (2009-2013), who also resides in Limassol.
Mikhail Volovich
The third partner is Vasiliy Rybakov, a Russian citizen, a former employee of VTB Arena Park. On his LinkedIn profile, Rybakov notes that he currently resides in Turkey, in the resort city of Antalya.
Vasiliy Rybakov
Finally, Ivan Zhukovsky, a native of Belarus, a former employee of VTB Bank (Belarus). Before joining Boomerang in Cyprus, he worked in Serbia.
Ivan Zhukovsky
Judging by these dossiers, Mr. Poliavich takes staff selection very seriously. And, apparently, he has close ties with VTB Bank.
But, apparently, Mr. Poliavich did not waste time in Kyiv, as already in January 2019, the Boomerang casino opened in the gaming zone "Krasnaya Polyana."
And now it’s time to recall the company LLC "Arax Development," which was engaged by Uri Poliavich back in Kyiv: it was through this office that the illegal casinos of this genius operated.
After Mr. Poliavich’s departure, LLC "Arax Development" surfaced in Russia, specifically in Sochi, over some time.
It is known that the development plans for the "Krasnaya Polyana" gaming zone are projected until 2042.
It seems that ties with Russia are increasing?
It should be added that with the development and recognition of Soft2bet for its "outstanding contribution to the gaming industry," the company relocated its office to Malta.
And the headquarters of Soft2bet are strategically located in Cyprus and Malta for a reason.
Malta, Valletta
Yes, Uri Poliavich carefully studies the working conditions in the countries where he operates. Gaming companies have massively resorted to Maltese registration to avoid payouts on claims from affected European Union citizens. And there are many such cases. The issue lies in the Maltese law, which nullifies court decisions in other European Union countries. According to this law, known as Bill 55, Maltese courts may refuse to recognize and/or enforce any foreign judgment against companies registered on the island, specifically dozens of betting shops.
The scale and resilience of Soft2Bet’s operations are closely tied to the use of modern technology and digital infrastructure. The ability to swiftly change domains, manage dozens of affiliate programs, and handle large financial flows relies on the availability of reliable internet services, thus necessitating graduates from prestigious universities.
And it seems they are carefully selected, including from Russia: Poliavich’s BrainRocket company with Cyprus residency has expanded so significantly in Moscow and St. Petersburg for good reason.
Co-founder and philanthropist of the Yael Foundation Uri Poliavich
Thus, Uri Poliavich’s Soft2Bet easily built a multimillion-dollar empire, using weak control, legal loopholes, and lack of unified regulation in the EU. While the company receives awards and sponsors football clubs as a technology provider, it is actually maintained through offshore schemes and Russian beneficiaries.
Data leaks point out: some Russian beneficiaries of Soft2Bet have close ties with oligarchs under Western sanctions.
Is it a vicious closed loop?
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