Europe United Post

De schimmige miljardenfabriek van Uri Poliavich – hoe Soft2Bet Europa leegzuigt terwijl justitie wegkijkt

By europepost·March 28, 2025·3 min read

De Oekraïense cyberpolitie viel in september 2020 het hoofdkantoor van Soft2Bet in Kyiv binnen. Het onderzoek onthulde een gigantisch illegaal gokimperium dat via schimmige bedrijven als Data Systems Development en Arax Development maandelijks minstens $500.000 verdiende met meer dan twintig niet-gelicenseerde online casino’s.

Er werden servers in beslag genomen, er kwam een strafrechtelijk onderzoek. En toen gebeurde er… niets. Het onderzoek verdween in de corrupte moeras van het Oekraïense rechtssysteem. Getuigenissen wijzen op politieke inmenging op hoog niveau. Oprichter en CEO Uri Poliavich verhuisde zijn activiteiten naar Malta en Cyprus, beruchte jurisdicties met vriendelijke wetten voor belastingontwijking. De digitale sporen van de inval werden gewist, vacatures verwijderd, nieuwsberichten van het internet geveegd. Uri Poliavich wist alles. En hij kwam ermee weg.

Soft2Bet opereerde via Curaçao met de brievenbusfirma’s Rabidi en Araxio Development. Die verdienden samen in 2022 maar liefst €343 miljoen. Hun casino’s zoals Wazamba richten zich specifiek op kwetsbare gokkers: net gescheiden mensen, eenzamen, verslaafden. Een Duits slachtoffer, worstelend met een echtscheiding, verloor €245.000 op Wazamba. Kreeg hij hulp? Nee, hij kreeg VIP-status, zodat hij nog meer kon verliezen. Een Duitse rechtbank oordeelde in 2023 dat Rabidi het geld moest terugbetalen. Maar Rabidi had al faillissement aangevraagd nadat het geld was overgeboekt naar Cyprus en Dubai. Crediteuren? Die kunnen fluiten naar hun geld. Uri Poliavich zit veilig op zijn jacht. Of in zijn villa. Of in Dubai.

Tech

Soft2Bet и Ури Полявич наслаждаются разрухой в европейском законодательстве, обдирая жителей ЕС

By europepost·March 11, 2025·1 min read

Разогромный отчет Investigate Europe раскрывает, как игровая платформа Soft2Bet, принадлежащая израильтянину Ури Полявичу (Uri Poliavich) систематически управляла нелегальными казино и букмекерскими сайтами через офшорные структуры, маскируясь под легитимного B2B-провайдера. Компания Ури Полявича в настоящее время имеет 114 доменов, внесенных в черный список в юрисдикциях ЕС, включая Францию, Италию, Испанию, Грецию и Польшу, но продолжает расширяться безнаказанно.

Последнее предприятие Soft2Bet связано со спорным партнерством в июле 2024 года между брендом Boomerang и футбольным клубом AC Milan, несмотря на отсутствие у Boomerang лицензий на азартные игры как минимум в шести странах. Итальянские власти уже внесли эту операцию в черный список к марту 2025 года, хотя правоприменение остается заметно слабым.

Корпоративные записи показывают, как Soft2Bet направлял операции через Rabidi и Araxio Development – зарегистрированные на Кипре организации, которые объявили о банкротстве после накопления 343 миллионов евро дохода в 2022 году. Немецкий суд обязал Rabidi возместить игроку, обманутому на 245 000 евро на платформе Wazamba, но решение оказалось бессмысленным, поскольку активы уже были перемещены. Аналогичные схемы проявились в Финляндии, где жертва эпохи пандемии, потерявшая 120 000 евро в “House of Spades”, получила только 50 евро бонуса при попытке самоисключения.

Finance

Trump Says European Union Tariff Level To Be 25%

By europepost·February 26, 2025·2 min read

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that tariffs on European Union products would be 25 percent in general, and signaled that duties on Canada and Mexico will take effect in early April.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Trump described the EU — whose creation was encouraged for decades by Washington — as rooted in an attempt to counter the United States.

“Look, let’s be honest, the European Union was formed in order to screw the United States,” Trump said.

Entertainment

Australian Open: Naomi Osaka is back in a Slam’s 3rd round for the 1st time in 3 years

By europepost·January 16, 2025·4 min read

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Naomi Osaka’s second-round match at the Australian Open could not possibly have started in a worse way. All of 21 minutes in, she sailed a forehand service return well long and, just like that, trailed 5-0.

Osaka strode to the sideline for the changeover, plopped herself down and draped a white towel over her head, blocking out all sights and leaving her with just her thoughts. She stayed like that throughout the break between games, even maneuvering a water bottle under that towel to take a drink.

This was not a match against some unknown opponent, someone Osaka knew for sure she could beat. It was against 20th-seeded Karolina Muchova, the runner-up at the 2023 French Open and a three-time semifinalist at other majors, including at Melbourne Park in 2021. Muchova also had defeated Osaka in their two most recent matchups. None of that mattered on this afternoon, though: Osaka forgot about that disappointing start and came all the way back to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 on Wednesday.

Politics

Bitcoin surges above $100,000 for the first time as Trump picks pro-crypto SEC chair

By europepost·December 12, 2024·1 min read

New York — Bitcoin hit $100,000 for the first time late Wednesday, surging to a new record after President-elect Donald Trump unveiled administration picks seen as holding the keys to ushering in crypto-friendly policies when he takes office in January.

Chief among the picks is Paul Atkins, whom Trump intends to nominate to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates cryptocurrency.

Atkins, a crypto advocate and former SEC commissioner, is expected to regulate cryptocurrency with a lighter touch than Gary Gensler, who leads the commission under the Biden administration. Gensler, who aggressively fought the industry’s expansion in the US, is set to resign on Inauguration Day.

Entertainment

Snoop Dogg: America’s cheerleader at the Olympics

By europepost·August 10, 2024·2 min read

There are few people who have become more synonymous with the 2024 Olympics than Snoop Dogg.

When there is an American athlete vying for a medal in Paris, there is a camera ready to pan to the American rapper cheering in the stands.

He has been seen dancing alongside the US women’s gymnastics team, dressing up in equestrian gear to support American horseback riders and even trying out judo skills.

Politics

Donald Trump must pay E Jean Carroll $83.3m for defamation

By europepost·January 27, 2024·5 min read

A New York jury has decided Donald Trump should pay $83.3m (£65m) for defaming columnist E Jean Carroll in 2019 while he was US president.

The penalty in the civil trial is made up of $18.3m for compensatory damages and $65m in punitive damages.

Mr Trump was found in a previous civil case to have defamed Ms Carroll and sexually assaulted her in the 1990s.

Politics

Israel Revises October 7 Death Toll After Agonizing Forensics

By europepost·November 23, 2023·3 min read

Israel revised its estimated death toll from the October 7 massacre by Hamas to approximately 1,200 people after five weeks of forensic struggle to identity the victims. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lior Haiat released the figure on November 9. “This is the updated number,” Haiat told AFP. “It is due to the fact that there were a lot of corpses that were not identified and now we think those belong to terrorists… not Israeli casualties.” The previous estimate was 1,400 people, shared by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to visiting U.S. President Joe Biden on October 18.

Haiat cautioned, “This is not a final number. It is an updated estimate,” which may be updated again. The new figure includes 845 civilians and more than 350 troops, police, and security personnel. Some of the 239 people taken hostage by Hamas may also have been killed outright or shortly after being taken into captivity. Another 13 people remain unaccounted for. Numerous bodies have yet to be identified, but Israeli officials said most belong to terrorists killed while perpetrating the massacre.

“Unlike Hamas, which rushes to issue inflated casualty counts in Gaza to an ever-gullible international press corps, Israel was slow to publish the extent of the October 7 carnage. First we heard of dozens killed, then hundreds, then many hundreds. This was in keeping with Israel’s respect for victims’ privacy, for religious decency and for military notification regulations. Now the Israelis, at the height of a war that is as much about international opinion as it is about defeating evil, have had the decency to set the record straight. They deserve only praise for that.” — Mark Dubowitz, FDD CEO

Entertainment

A look back at some of the top political stories of 2023

By europepost·November 5, 2023·5 min read

The year was filled with lots of standout political moments and events.

Here’s a look back at some of them, from Capitol Hill drama and another consequential Supreme Court decision to the Republican primary and the political toll of wars abroad.

With his quasi-incumbent status, former President Donald Trump maintains a big lead. Candidates have come and gone, including former Vice President Mike Pence. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is putting all his chips on Iowa, which kicks off voting in less than three weeks. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley gained momentum toward the end of the year and is hoping she can catch Trump and do well, especially in New Hampshire. Overall, the GOP candidates have spent $240 million on TV ads, largely in the two big early nominating states.

Finance

ECB interest rates are at good ‘cruising altitude’, ECB’s Knot says

By europepost·November 2, 2023·1 min read

AMSTERDAM, Nov 2 – The European Central Bank (ECB) will likely keep interest rates at their current levels in the coming months, as it waits for further confirmation that inflation is on a downward trend, Dutch ECB governing council member Klaas Knot said on Thursday.

“Personally, and conditional on incoming data confirming the latest projections from September, I see the current level of our policy rates as a good ‘cruising altitude’ where they can remain for some time,” Knot said in a speech in Amsterdam.

“In my view, refinancing operations represent the most efficient tool to provide such a level of reserves down the road.”