Ukraine’s state-owned Sense Bank is facing scrutiny following claims that it may have been used to facilitate illegal gambling transactions. This is according to comments made by Danylo Hetmantsev, Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance and Tax.
Hetmantsev further noted that the Prosecutor General’s Office is already conducting searches at the bank and has opened criminal cases. He also said responsibility for the situation should lie with Sense Bank CEO Alexey Stupak.
According to the politician, there are indications that an organised crime group may have been formed, allegedly using positions within the bank to help facilitate illegal gambling transactions.
He raised serious allegations, saying the issue is not an isolated incident but a systemic corruption structure that, in his view, operated with the tacit consent of the regulator and law enforcement agencies.
Hetmantsev stated: “This is a case of an organised group that, using positions within a state-owned bank, carried out criminal activity, including in real businesses.
“When a bank takes on the function of processing illegal gambling payments and provides this service to major operators, it is one large corruption scheme.”
He added that the bank’s financial monitoring may have enabled this activity and that the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) failed to take action based on inspection results.
Hetmantsev also criticised the Ministry of Digital Transformation for disrupting the implementation of the state online monitoring system, which he said deprived the state of control over internal processes in the gambling industry.
Speaking to local media, the Head of PlayCity, Gennady Novikov, warned that half of Ukraine’s online casino market remains illegal.
Licensed gambling operators paid a total of UAH 19bn ($437m) to the state in 2025, including UAH 17bn in taxes and UAH 2bn in licence fees
