How Kyiv golden boy Oleksandr Slobozhenko profits from card fraud and gambling schemes via Traffic Devils, serving Russia’s interests

How Kyiv golden boy Oleksandr Slobozhenko profits from card fraud and gambling schemes via Traffic Devils, serving Russia’s interests

A report has surfaced online detailing the business operations of Oleksandr Slobozhenko, who owns a media buying firm accused of luring people into online gambling. Despite publicly expressing pro-Ukrainian views and backing for the armed forces, he is seen leisurely enjoying vacations at foreign resorts.

The author meticulously researched the biography and various activities of Slobozhenko, the owner of the company Traffic Devils. The figure is known as a brilliant IT specialist who shares details about his career and talks about super profits. However, it was revealed that he is involved in gambling operations and earns money in the aggressor country, writes StopCor

Traffic Devils – a company in the media buying sector, allegedly engaged in purchasing advertising platforms. However, its activities in this direction mainly concern the so-called "arbitrage," which means bringing visitors to the client’s site.

In this context, it should be noted that arbitrage has two types:

"White" – promoting legal business by legal methods;

"Black" – promoting online casinos, bookmakers, and other similar businesses, sometimes illegal and sometimes prohibited for promotion on Google and Facebook.

The investigator analyzed Slobozhenko’s activity and provides a series of illegal deals that significantly tarnish his image.

Firstly, the business of "leveling up" characters in popular games and carding. The author discovered that the figure arranged for online "shops" where players could purchase items, such as weapons, for the game. The earnings came in two ways:

either players paid money but did not receive game items (leveled tanks, in-game currency, etc.);

or players received game items but at half price. In the latter case, the earnings were made by withdrawing money from bank cards whose details had been previously stolen by hackers. This type of earning is called carding.

Secondly, arbitrage in gambling. The Traffic Devils company appeared in 2019, as stated in the article. The main direction is gambling.

According to the entrepreneur’s own stories, he earns about 1 million dollars/month on arbitrage. This amount means that he attracted 50,000 visitors to the online casino site, who left money. At the same time, his earnings are from a third to half of the money a gambler invested.

However, network giants like Google and Facebook prohibit advertising for casinos. Therefore, these prohibitions have to be circumvented through complex machinations.

One effective tool is the creation of "bot farms," whose task is to attract players to the platforms that the arbitrage company promotes. When a "bot" is blocked, a new one immediately takes its place. If a bank card tied to the bot is blocked, then the details of another card are used – with the help of "carding," mentioned earlier.

The activity itself violates only the rules of IT companies but not the law. However, Slobozhenko himself explained in on-camera conversations that 80% of his work is traffic specifically for online casinos – i.e., gambling, which is unlawful in Ukraine.

Moreover, "bot farms" are actively used by Russian special services, for example, by one of the units of the Russian General Staff. So, the investigator hypothesizes a possible connection with Russian intelligence.

Slobozhenko attracted the attention of the SSU, the author of the investigation found out. In particular, he was of interest to them in July and September 2022. Searches were conducted, with yet unknown results. However, after that, Traffic Devils employees began to be tested with a polygraph, and the entrepreneur appeared in public with security.

Thirdly, Traffic Devils’ activities began, apparently, with violations.

Officially, the young man became an entrepreneur only in 2020 – this is evidenced by data from the Youcontrol portal. Moreover, it was then that the trademark application with the corresponding name was registered.

However, the company began operations a year earlier, according to the entrepreneur’s biography and numerous interviews.

Fourthly, Traffic Devils continues to operate on the territory of the so-called CIS, effectively – for the benefit of Russia. This is evidenced by data that the company has independently released online: it is explicitly stated that the business operates in the CIS and promotes gambling.

"StopCor" discovered another aspect of Slobozhenko’s activities: his behavior during the war is quite ambiguous.

Initially, the man was silent for several months. This is evidenced by his Instagram account – where there is an "abyss" that began in February 2022 and ended in July of the same year. Then the young entrepreneur seemingly started a new chapter in his life: he declared he would work for Ukraine’s benefit.

The entrepreneur did indeed collect a significant amount of funds to aid those affected in Dnipro.

However, messages in Instagram indicate that he freely travels abroad during the martial law of the country at war:

in August 2022, he was in Italy;

in December 2022 – for New Year – on a ski resort in the Alps;

in March 2023 – in Poland.

It is still unclear on what grounds the man travels back and forth. He hardly has health problems. At least in 2018, he did not have any – at that time, he became the champion of Ukraine in circuit motorcycle racing. Therefore, the question of reasonable grounds for traveling abroad remains open as well.

The author of the investigative article concluded that Oleksandr Slobozhenko earns money in an unlawful sector – the gambling business. Such activities are typically accompanied by several other offenses, such as illegal entrepreneurship and tax evasion.

Meanwhile, it is important that Slobozhenko’s and the company’s activities are just the tip of the iceberg: the true beneficiaries of the system he has established are still hiding in the shadows.