At the request of the prosecutor's office, a 31-year-old man was taken into custody by the court on August 23 without the right to bail. 

He is charged with intentionally establishing and spreading criminal influence and organizing illegal gambling (part 1 of Art. 255-1, part 2 of Art. 28, part 1 of Art. 203-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

In addition, the involvement of three more accomplices in the organization and conduct of gambling has been established (part 2 of Art. 28, part 1 of Art. 203-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). The individuals have already been notified of suspicion. 

As the investigation revealed, when in 2023 the previous informal leader of the criminal environment in the city of Izmail, Odesa region, went abroad, this resident of the city decided to take his place. 

He assumed the main function of accumulating, holding, and distributing money from the "common cash" of the criminal world. The role of the "curator" also included: monitoring compliance with the unofficial norms of the criminal environment by other representatives, and resolving conflicts between "their" as a senior.

The perpetrator acted cautiously. He managed and organized but did not act as the executor of illegal actions.

Over time, in addition to the city of Izmail, the suspect extended his criminal influence to the Izmail and Bolhrad districts.

Furthermore, in September 2024, the informal leader of crime recruited three more accomplices and organized a venue for illegal poker gambling. Not everyone could come to play, only those recommended by "their". For this, they rented and renovated premises in Izmail, provided ventilation and power supply, and purchased tables, cards, and chips.

The organizer distributed the income from the illegal poker hall partly among the accomplices, while part went to fill the shadow cash register of the criminal world. In one night, the gambling establishment's income could reach UAH 1.2 million. During the searches, equipment, black bookkeeping, USD 22,000, UAH 60,000, and EUR 5,600 were also seized.

The organizer of the poker club had previously come under the scrutiny of law enforcement. He currently has the status of a defendant in two criminal proceedings. In various cases, he has been charged with hooliganism with the use of weapons, intentional bodily harm, robbery committed with violence, and robbery under aggravating circumstances (part 4 of Art. 296, part 1 of Art. 122, part 2 of Art. 186, part 2 of Art. 187 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

For about a year, law enforcement documented this crime, collecting indisputable evidence of the spread of criminal influence and coordination of criminal activities of other individuals.

Currently, the law enforcement agencies of Odesa continue to work on bringing to criminal responsibility the criminal network of accomplices on which the "curator" spread his influence.

Operational support in the criminal proceedings is provided by the Strategic Investigation Department in the Odesa region of the Department of Strategic Investigation of the National Police of Ukraine.

Note: according to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a court verdict.

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In Odesa region, law enforcement agencies exposed and stopped the criminal influence of the “shadow curator of Bessarabia”

Prosecutors of the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office along with investigators of the Territorial Department of Economic Security Bureau in the region stopped the illegal activities of the so-called “criminal curator of Bessarabia”.