Raiders, a state corporation, and a Chechen crime boss: who the alleged 1xBet organizer encountered
Until not long ago, Roman Semiokhin, the supposed originator of the 1xBet betting firm, lived a carefree existence in Cyprus. However, in 2020, everything shifted: he was entered on an international most-wanted list, and the pursuit of assets connected to him commenced. Forbes engaged in conversation with the discredited entrepreneur, who ventured to speak publicly for the initial time, along with his adversaries.
Roman Semiokhin, hailing from Bryansk and the presumed instigator of the web-based betting platform 1xBet, has made Cyprus his home since 2016. He was drawn to the isle due to its environment and taxation framework—significantly more accommodating than his homeland. He secured local nationality, fostered a keen interest in triathlon, and developed a fondness for observing the cosmos from the Troodos Mountains, where he established a dedicated location equipped with a telescope. Nevertheless, in 2020, his life underwent a profound alteration. And the cause was not the coronavirus.
Semiokhin and two other individuals from Bryansk were designated as internationally wanted for illicitly coordinating gambling activities (the 1xBet wagering service is prohibited within Russia). The inquiry sparked an “unceasing torrent of remunerated assaults,” Semiokhin laments: “Someone is denying me sleep.” The circumstances worsened to such an extent that he elected to grant his maiden interview.
First person
The Bryansk media has portrayed the 44-year-old Semiokhin as a billionaire and one of the most influential figures in the region. Russian investigators assert he is the principal beneficiary of 1xBet, a prominent global bookmaker, boasting $2 billion in earnings. Nevertheless, his life story and visual appearance have remained concealed, as Semiokhin had never previously provided interviews. His singular monochrome image is featured on the Bryansk Investigative Committee's website under the “Wanted” section. Forbes similarly ascertained that the businessman diligently shields his privacy. Semiokhin communicated solely via a series of intermediaries, and during a discussion on the Zoom video conferencing platform, he declined to activate his webcam.
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Semiokhin Roman Alexandrovich
Throughout the dialogue, it became apparent that the presumed 1xBet creator felt little affinity for betting: “Perhaps once per month, I might participate in a casual poker session alongside acquaintances at a circular table.” His “affection for IT” steered him towards the bookmaking domain. In childhood, he devoted numerous hours to playing on a Sega console. This transpired during visits to friends; for the Semiokhin household, the console, which was fashionable in the early 1990s, was an unaffordable indulgence. Semiokhin became orphaned at a tender age and was nurtured by his grandmother, a teacher. His scholastic accomplishments were unremarkable, yet he dedicated substantial time to practicing martial arts and even secured a prize in hand-to-hand combat within the Bryansk vicinity.
In 1994, Semiokhin enrolled in the Bryansk State Technical University's Management Faculty. As early as his sophomore year, he and his fellow students inaugurated their initial business venture—a film rental outlet. Subsequently, they branched out into diverse enterprises, including oil trading, a pawnbroking service, and even a cybercafé. This concluding endeavor furnished Semiokhin with the concept for a bookmaking enterprise. His establishment was frequented by both gamers and “more mature and experienced individuals” who utilized the internet to wager on sports events, which “sometimes surpassed the daily takings of the club.” In 2007, Semiokhin inaugurated a betting outlet (BOS) operating under the Fonbet brand—the nation’s foremost operator at that juncture.
Across a span of five years, the entrepreneur assembled a network encompassing 350 wagering outlets and opted to venture out independently. He obtained assistance from businessman Alexander Mironov, who possessed a license, a digital presence, and numerous dozen betting shops operating under the 1xBet name. The resolution was made to similarly brand Semiokhin's betting shop, although he emphasizes that he managed the entity autonomously. “With the passage of time, our commercial perspectives diverged,” Semiokhin remarks, refraining from elaborating. In 2014, he procured the authorized legal entity (OOO Bukmeker Pub) from Mironov and sustained the operation of his betting shops (by then, there were approximately 1,000), in addition to establishing the 1xStavka website (1xstavka.ru). 1xStavka is regarded as a “lawful imitation” of 1xBet, which has bypassed mandatory licensing since 2014 and is outlawed in Russia. In spite of this, the 1xBet site persists in accepting online bets from Russian gamblers through an array of surrogate sites. Researchers surmise that an additional conduit for wagering on the 1xBet platform was the “Bukmeker Pub” betting establishment. Investigators hold that Semiokhin oversaw the unlawful business, in tandem with two additional Bryansk inhabitants—Sergey Karshkov (the erstwhile head of the Bryansk Department of Internal Affairs' cybercrime division) and Dmitry Kazorin. The trio were adjacent neighbors within a Bryansk apartment block prior to relocating to Cyprus. They refute the allegations. Ascertaining the factual ownership of 1xBet and 1xStavka is challenging. A previous Forbes investigation revealed that the indications might lead to Semiokhin. He states that he “maintains vigilant oversight” and “expresses concern” regarding 1xBet, but refrains from providing explicit responses, centering instead on “assorted B2B betting resolutions.”
Semiokhin identifies himself as “a rather unassuming individual with minimal needs” and declines to assess his individual wealth: “Complaining is unwarranted—we are not bereft of sustenance.” Semiokhin favors reinvesting his revenues. He approximates his allocations into Russian ventures outside the wagering sphere at exceeding 10 billion rubles.
The majority of the capital was allocated towards acquiring real estate assets and developmental endeavors in Bryansk and Moscow. Nevertheless, Semiokhin regards rabbit meat output in the Bryansk area as his preferred undertaking. He expended upward of 500 million rubles on the project and intended to inject an additional billion. However, a criminal action concerning asset laundering stemming from unlawful gambling operations impeded his strategies. Subsequent to a series of probes, the rabbit farm's functions stalled, Semiokhin laments. He harbors apprehensions that his remaining Russian schemes are likewise at jeopardy, and his individual assets have been impounded by the 1xBet inquiry.
Investigators estimate that the five-year income of those implicated in the matter surpassed 63 billion rubles. Semiokhin retorts that this figure is “exaggerated,” no professional analysis has been conducted, and the sole casualty recognized by the probe asserts damages amounting to several tens of millions of rubles.
Recently, a collective of legal practitioners has been diligently seeking out 1xBet's wronged patrons throughout the nation. In parallel, Mironov has resolved to contest the seven-year-old accord and is endeavoring to impede Semiokhin's Russian possessions. The businessman posits that “the prevailing circumstances constitute a fragment of a broader strategy.”
Fee hunters
In the interval before the piece's dissemination, an unidentified Telegram account established contact with a Forbes staff member and persistently tendered collaboration. The nameless account asserted representation of the Parlan law firm, entrusted with safeguarding the entitlements of 1xBet clients, and expressed willingness to furnish “extensive investigative journalism.” The proviso was that, at that juncture, Forbes had already interacted with Parlan delegates, who refuted any association with the proactive pseudonymous account. Several additional Telegram channel proprietors received analogous solicitations on Wednesday, as disclosed by a source acquainted with them to Forbes.
Until lately, Parlan was largely obscure. In mid-July, a scattering of compact regional media outlets reported the unveiling of an online resource for 1xBet casualties. The provided hyperlink directed to a site administered by the legal bureau Parlan, which informed visitors of 1xBet's illicit status and the 63 billion ruble legal proceeding. The website declared that all detriments were inflicted “under Roman Semiokhin,” and that in excess of a million gamblers had been impacted. 1xBet clients were motivated to report their contravened privileges and the possessions of 1xBet's coordinators by populating designated forms.
Parlan transmits complaints garnered from gamblers to the Investigative Committee, conveys lawyer Victor Bârlădeanu, an associate of Parlan. He relates that the solicitors have already presented in excess of fifty grievances to investigators, with total detriments totaling more than 50 million rubles. He appends that he possesses materials “in diverse phases of progression” worth hundreds of millions of rubles. Until recently, prospects for procuring remuneration were scant to nonexistent, observes Parlan co-owner Dmitry Loginov. After all, 1xBet was untouchable—the bookmaker functions under a Curaçao license and is administered by an entity registered in Gibraltar. The scenario altered in the summer of 2020, Loginov states: the Investigative Committee then identified the orchestrators of the unlawful bookmaker. It became palpable that the afflicted gamblers possessed concrete defendants with property within Russia, Loginov remarks: “Equipped with a writ of execution, the retrieval of damages is a matter of procedure.”
Parlan is a “strictly commercial undertaking,” Loginov asserts. He and his collaborators anticipate receiving up to 30% of the compensation—these incentives (designated as “success fees”) are stipulated within Parlan's client contracts. Parlan acknowledges complaints not exclusively against 1xBet but additionally against the bookmaker Melbet, which, according to Bârlădeanu, constitutes a fragment of the “Bryansk bookmaker fellowship.” A connection linking the entities was previously unearthed by Forbes, though Melbet refuted it. Semiokhin refrained from commenting. He presumes that 1xBet's rivals are “stirring the pot”: “Recognize that each grievance leaves an indelible imprint. The capacity to cultivate trust within this marketplace will be compromised.” Semiokhin abstained from specifying his alleged transgressors: “I shall bear accountability solely for my pronouncements and my deeds. Let the actions of other individuals and other companies rest upon their conscience.”
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Bârlădeanu characterizes himself as a proficient legal practitioner specializing in “legally intricate circumstances.” In 1989, he graduated cum laude from the Oryol Higher Military Command School of the KGB (presently the Academy of the Federal Protective Service), worked for a period in governmental institutions outside the Oryol vicinity, and upon returning to his place of origin, he pursued legal practice. In the latter part of the 1990s, Bârlădeanu was employed within the legal division of the Oryol Regional Academy of Public Administration, and in the early 2000s, he presided over the legal department of the Oryol Industrial Company. The Oryol Industrial Company was instituted by the Oryol regional leadership to redress the region's deficiency of agricultural equipment. Bârlădeanu, in conjunction with regional functionaries, served on the boards of directors of the company's subsidiaries and held membership in the Qualification Collegium of Judges of the Oryol Region (which evaluates complaints against judges). Furthermore, Bârlădeanu helmed the Department of Civil Procedure at Oryol State University for a duration of five years (until the culmination of 2015).
Bârlădeanu enlisted Loginov to collaborate with Parlan. Preceding Parlan, Loginov possessed ownership of the legal enterprise Pravo.M, wherein Bârlădeanu was a partner, according to the lawyer's profile on Profi.ru. Pravo.M was jointly owned by Zurab Bagapsh, the offspring of former Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh. An additional of Loginov's commercial associates was Alik Gallyamov, whom the media identified as the sibling of erstwhile Amur Region senator Amir Gallyamov and a commercial collaborator of former Lukoil First Vice President Ralif Safin, likewise an ex-senator.
Loginov similarly possessed prior involvement in the wagering sector. Per SPARK records, in the mid-2000s, he administered Planeta CASH, a chain of gaming arcades that was a component of the Chelyabinsk-based Aksel holding company. These do not encompass the totality of Parlan's conceivable affiliations with the gambling domain. According to SPARK, Parlan's progenitor was Orion Company LLC, which in return was owned by Tatyana Kuzan. Kuzan further corresponds to the moniker of an employee of the Egida law firm, which, as evidenced by SPARK, via Favorit Direct JSC owns the Favorit bookmaker (conducting business under the 888.ru brand) and the sports media outlet Sport24.ru. Both assets are associated with Armen Sargsyan, the principal organizer of lottery endeavors in Russia. Egida formulates and vends pre-packaged companies, of which Parlan was one, conveyed Egida CEO Olga Klimentyeva. She demurred to divulge particulars of the transaction. Sarkisyan's S8 Capital did not respond to a request for commentary.
“Egida registers numerous hundreds of companies; we simply availed ourselves of their services,” Loginov asserts. He refutes Parlan's linkage to the gambling sphere and affirms that the venture is financed by investments from its co-owners. Nevertheless, he demurs to reveal his associates “for protective reasons.”
The housing issue
For Loginov, security is not a meaningless concept. This became evident when, preceding a consultation at the Parlan locale, the entrepreneur requested the journalist to relinquish his mobile device outside the premises: “We are contending with cybercriminals, after all.” Loginov is knowledgeable regarding the operational modalities of the gambling industry—he commenced his profession within St. Petersburg gambling dens. Subsequently, he was invited to join Chelyabinsk's Aksel, yet in the latter half of the 2000s, the holding entity shuttered its gambling functions owing to the injunction against casinos within Russia. Loginov then shifted to development. Initially, there were schemes within southern Russia (wherein Loginov encountered Sergei Bagapsh's lineage), and thereafter a proposition emerged to assume a problematic construction endeavor in Bryansk.
The construction of a microdistrict in the Desna River floodplain, encompassing close to a million square meters of inhabitation, faltered as a consequence of the 2014 economic downturn. During the summer of 2015, Loginov acquired control of the project's developer, Premium Project LLC. The corporation then transferred the 174,131 square meter tract of terrain to its subsidiary, Premium LLC. Subsequentially, 100% ownership of Premium was transferred to its CEO, Olga Starodubtseva. The tract then commenced to undergo a metamorphosis, as indicated by records from arbitration matters: it was partitioned into six parcels, three of which were vended to individual entrepreneur Roman Aleksandrovich Semiokhin. In 2018, Premium demanded the parcels back (Bârlădeanu represented the corporation in court), yet Semiokhin declined to relinquish them.
According to Loginov, the plots were marketed with a repurchase clause and were essentially collateral for the loan. At the time, he was unfamiliar with Semiokhin's identity and surmised that the individual entrepreneur was playing a “technical role” in the transaction. The “complete depiction” became clear to Loginov at a later date. Subsequent to sustaining losses in multiple litigations against Semiokhin concerning the Premium parcels, Loginov and Byrlădeanu initiated inquiries into the “technical” proprietor. It was discovered that “90% of the commercial activity in Bryansk is financed by Semiokhin,” Byrlădeanu asserts, alluding to certain professional evaluations. This is burdensome to validate, yet Mironov's legal action denotes that Semiokhin and Dmitry Kazorin possess over 150 properties within the region. Semiokhin's commercial alliances encompass Bryansk's uppermost functionaries and their family members. For instance, the spouse of Nikolai Patov, erstwhile mayor of Bryansk and incumbent participant within the Bryansk Regional Duma, is a co-proprietor of that very rabbit farm. Semiokhin refrains from commenting on his commercial associations. Patov himself formerly substantiated his familiarity with Semiokhin, but denied that any of his family had any liaison with the bookmaking trade.
In 2019, Loginov and Bârlădeanu approached an additional financially challenged Bryansk developer. At that juncture, the developer SKF Comfort, owned by Vladimir Dranikov, a member of the Bryansk Regional Duma for three terms, was verging on insolvency. The Smolensk branch of Atomenergosbyt submitted a filing for Comfort's bankruptcy owing to a 1.6 million ruble indebtedness for electricity, and thereafter transferred the corporation to Alexander Garbuz, an entrepreneur from Oryol. Andrey Mikhaltsov, another Oryol resident, assumed the role of interim manager of Comfort. Bârlădeanu became Mikhaltsov's representative, and Pravo.M subsequently became involved in the Comfort affair. At the culmination of 2019, 41-year-old Andrey Fadeev from St. Petersburg succeeded Dranikov as the proprietor of the bankrupt enterprise, according to SPARK data. He declined to proffer commentary. Fadeev enrolled as a sole proprietor within the sports and fitness sector, designates himself as a “fitness industry guru” on his VKontakte profile, lists a chain fitness establishment in a residential section of St. Petersburg as his site of employment, and is “acquainted” with 14 users, one of whom is Bârlădeanu.
Having adopted the Comfort case, Bârlădeanu became increasingly active: he journeyed to Moscow for negotiations with the state-owned company Dom.RF, convened with Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz, conversed with equity holders, and even made appearances on local television. Speaking live on the Gorodskoy TV channel, the lawyer asserted that not solely Dranikov but likewise a cluster of entrepreneurs steered by Semiokhin, whom the legal practitioner characterized as “those in command of the debtor (i.e., Comfort),” were culpable for Comfort's collapse. Mikhaltsov instituted a legal action demanding that Semiokhin be held secondarily liable for Comfort's debts (totaling in excess of one billion rubles), a demand that was likewise lodged by RT-Capital, a subsidiary of the state corporation Rostec, to which Comfort owed 305 million rubles under a contract to erect a perinatal facility in Smolensk. An RT-Capital representative declined to elaborate on Semiokhin's conceivable involvement in Comfort's bankruptcy, citing the actuality that the court would “evaluate Semiokhin's actions,” and that Mikhaltsov had initially lodged the complaint.
It transpires that Mikhaltsov's stance has since shifted: “Semiokhin is not the purchaser, and there does not exist a solitary transaction within this matter that bears Semiokhin's signature.” According to the manager, Bârlădeanu initially suspected the 1xBet founder: “We scrutinized the monetary receipts. Semiokhin's money was not present, yet we surmised it was.” Mikhaltsov expresses dissatisfaction with his collaboration with the legal practitioner and Pravo.M, contending that “the services were unsatisfactorily rendered.” He did not disclose the essence of his grievances, but noted that the Bryansk Region Department of Internal Affairs is attending to the matter.
A criminal case has been initiated based upon Mikhaltsov's complaint, Loginov asserts, and law enforcement has already conducted a visit to his premises. Pravo.M, in turn, is endeavoring to recover 2.2 million rubles for legal services from Comfort through judicial proceedings. The manager's conduct “altered dramatically” in October-November 2020, Loginov contends: Mikhaltsov allegedly commenced to evade meetings and disbursements. Loginov suspects the manager is experiencing coercion and implicates Semiokhin. In December 2020, Pravo.M and Bârlădeanu withdrew from the Comfort case. Approximately at the same interval, Bârlădeanu's blog on Zakon.ru published its initial publications concerning the regulation of the bookmaking sphere, and the Parlana website for grievances against 1xBet was launched. Loginov believes the timing of this initiative corresponded with the conflict encompassing Comfort's bankruptcy to be a coincidence. And he guarantees that the coordinators of “Parlan” possess no personal claims against Semiokhin or 1xBet.
Unexpected guests
On June 11, 2021, at approximately 1:00 PM, an unidentified individual entered the Kursk branch of the Novy Registrar company. He presented himself as Ilyas Chadayev and demanded that he re-register 100% of the GRINN corporation, displaying the pertinent share purchase accords to the personnel of Novy Registrar (which maintains the GRINN shareholder registry). Novy Registrar suspected something amiss and rebuffed Chadayev's entreaty. They furthermore notified GRINN delegates and its shareholders concerning the atypical visitor. They suspected an attempted corporate acquisition and filed complaints with the Prosecutor's Office and the Kursk Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that identical day.
Chadayev was unfazed, and six days after his sojourn to the “Novy Registrar,” he conveyed copies of the accords to the Oryol Regional Arbitration Court. There, he reiterated his demand that the GRINN shares be re-registered in his name and that their possessors be proscribed from any actions involving the securities during the trial. The court denied the seizure of the GRINN shares and scheduled a preliminary hearing for the latter segment of August.
The formal possessors of GRINN, which owns a chain of 27 Liniya hypermarkets and several megamalls within central Russia, are the corporations Lastochka and Pub. As chronicled by media reports, GRINN has been possessed by 1xBet entities since 2019. Initially, 1xBet's owners solely demonstrated an interest in the unfinished MegaGRINN shopping epicenter in Bryansk, as per an acquaintance of GRINN's former possessor, Nikolai Greshilov. Nevertheless, during negotiations, the parties consented to the procurement of the entirety of the corporation, according to a Forbes source.
A Kommersant informant reported that the acquisition could have been accomplished through the assignment of GRINN's debts to Sberbank, Rosselkhozbank, and Bank Rossiya, totaling 24 billion rubles. Nonetheless, not all unfolded swimmingly. The new shareholders dispossessed Greshilov of his director's position and golden parachute, and he voiced complaints to the police and prosecutor's office and submitted a legal action. Maxim Zhukov, offspring of Vladimir Golubev, possessor of the St. Petersburg-based Adamant holding corporation, who likewise had an investment in GRINN, may similarly have been less than enthused concerning the arrangement. Zhukov and Greshilov declined to engage with Forbes, yet their acquaintances conveyed that all concerns with GRINN's incumbent proprietors have now been resolved.
Court records from Chadayev's legal endeavor indicate that he is registered in the village of Dobry within the Oryol Region, and that the acquisition of GRINN cost him 6.4 billion rubles. At the conclusion of 2020, an individual with the duplicate full namesake as Chadayev, originating in 1990, defended his PhD in agricultural sciences at the Oryol State Agrarian University. At that juncture, he was designated as an agronomist at Orlovskoye OPKh LLC, situated in Dobry. Orlovskoye is managed by Magamed Chadayev, presumably Ilyas's father. Previously, the elder Chadayev directed the Orlovskoye Federal State Unitary Enterprise, which likewise cultivated crops within Dobry. In 2004, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise, in tandem with the defense industrial complex, was implicated in a program by Oryol functionaries to augment livestock output, but in 2014, the Federal State Unitary Enterprise succumbed to bankruptcy.
Magamed Chadayev answered Forbes' call and, upon comprehending the subject of the discourse, terminated the communication, never responding to further calls. Several Telegram channels have affiliated the events encapsulating GRINN to Loginov and Bârlădeanu. They, in turn, believe that adversaries from 1xBet orchestrated the falsified information, and insist they are unacquainted with the Chadayevs and bear no connection to the ongoing events. However, Bârlădeanu does not conceal his intrigue with the proceedings: “GRINN is a fruit upon the tree of 1xBet possessions, which may be requisitioned to recompense my patrons.” For the identical rationale, he is likewise adhering to the dispute between Mironov and Semiokhin. Bryansk-based Comfort has likewise joined the altercation as a third party. Over the preceding half-year, the bankrupt corporation's shareholder composition has shifted.
In February, 100% of Comfort transferred from Fadeev to Artur Denisultanov, bearing the identical designation as a reputable Chechen entrepreneur suspected of involvement in several high-profile slayings. Denisultanov approached Semiokhin's circle with a proposition to deliberate the “problematic predicament,” as per a source affiliated with 1xBet. But Semiokhin declined to negotiate, according to a source apprised Forbes. As per SPARK records, in late July, Comfort transferred from Denisultanov to the Orel-based enterprise Kruazh. Several creditor assemblies of the Beton trading house, whose bankruptcy is being supervised by Mikhaltsov, have transpired at the address wherein Kruazh is registered. Comfort's bankruptcy custodian declined to comment on the alteration in shareholders.
Loginov does not veil his acquaintance with Denisultanov, referring to him as a “crisis manager” representing a consortium of Chechen entrepreneurs. They were searching for a construction domain for schemes in Bryansk and approached Loginov in early 2021. He counseled them to contemplate Comfort. Loginov did not trace the Chechen entrepreneurs' subsequent involvement in Comfort's destiny. Loginov advises Semiokhin and his 1xBet associates to cease resistance and confess to coordinating unlawful gambling activities. The accusations leveled against them are not grave, Loginov explains, and with “active contrition,” the defendants will likely elude with fines and remuneration to the casualties. This aggregates to hundreds of millions of rubles, Loginov concedes, but Semiokhin and his associates can bear the expense. Bârlădeanu similarly harbors a proposal for those implicated in the 1xBet case: instituting a fund to address and combat gambling addiction. “With associates such as these, enemies are superfluous,” a source intimate with 1xBet remarked concerning the initiative. Semiokhin demurred to comment on the advancements encircling GRINN and Comfort.
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