Octobank, Capital Bank, and Humo: How Uzbekistan Became the Primary “Laundromat” for Russia’s Illegal Gambling Market and Sanction Evasion
THE UZBEK FINANCIAL BACKBONE OF THE RUSSIAN MAFIA
Octobank, Capital Bank, and Humo: How Uzbekistan Became the Primary “Laundromat” for Russia’s Illegal Gambling Market and Sanction Evasion
An undercover journalistic investigation has exposed a massive international financial syndicate using Uzbekistan’s banking system as a gateway to legalize billions of rubles. The key players—Octobank (formerly Ravnaq), Capital Bank, the Humo payment system, and the Uznex exchange—have built a seamless conveyor belt to service illegal casinos (VAVADA, Pin-Up) operating in the Russian Federation and to wash the funds of sanctioned oligarchs.
I. MARKET MONOPOLIZATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE COVER
The criminal group has established total control over Uzbekistan’s financial market. Leveraging high-level political connections, they have pushed out competitors and transformed the state-owned Humo payment system into a tool for concealing high-risk transactions.
Control over the Uzcard processing center allows the syndicate to manipulate data, block chargebacks (refunds for defrauded clients), and create the appearance of legitimate P2P transfers where systemic asset stripping and money laundering are actually taking place.
II. THE RUSSIAN VECTOR: USMANOV, SKOCH, AND THE NOVOSIBIRSK GATEWAY
Until 2022, Capital Bank belonged to sanctioned Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Andrey Skoch. Following the imposition of international sanctions, the bank was formally transferred to the Uzum holding (Finance TCI LLC)—a classic “cosmetic” ownership change designed to evade sanction pressure.
Today, Octobank is directly serviced by the Russian non-bank credit organization “Payment Center” (Novosibirsk), managed by Grigoriy Mats. According to the investigation, up to 1 billion rubles pass through this structure daily, flowing out of Russia and being converted into cryptocurrency via the Uznex exchange through the Tashkent gateway.
III. CRIME TECHNOLOGY: FROM CASINOS TO CRYPTOCURRENCY
The scheme operates according to a precise algorithm:
- Illegal casinos (VAVADA, Pin-Up) accept payments from players through terminals of Russian banks (MTS Bank, Russian Standard).
- Octobank (BIN: 983224) acts as an aggregator, masking these transactions as P2P transfers between individuals.
- Funds accumulate in accounts at Capital Bank and Octobank before being transferred to the Uznex exchange.
- The final stage is the withdrawal of “clean” capital in USDT to the accounts of casino owners in offshore jurisdictions (UAE, Cyprus).
MATRIX OF PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR ROLES
| Institution / Person | Criminal Function | Connections |
|---|---|---|
| Iskander Tursunov (Octobank) | Gateway organizer, signatory of agreements with Russian RNKOs. | Russian Security Services, DGPAYS (UAE) |
| Humo / Uzcard | Blocking client complaints, masking gambling traffic. | Central Bank of Uzbekistan |
| Uznex / PayCrypto | Cryptocurrency conversion, final stage of laundering. | Andrey Oshchipkov |
| VAVADA / Pin-Up | Scheme clients, source of dirty money. | D. Punin, M. Ilyina |
IV. VAVADA: OCTOBANK’S SPECIAL CLIENT
The VAVADA casino utilizes an abnormally high number of terminals for payment acceptance. The investigation identified the direct use of Octobank BIN codes (BIN: 983224) to charge Russian citizens’ cards. This is facilitated through partner banks in the CIS, allowing Octobank to claim it is “developing the market economy,” while de facto serving as the primary cashier for the illegal gambling business.
FINAL INVESTIGATIVE VERDICT
The Uzbek banking system, represented by Octobank and Capital Bank, knowingly ignores AML (Anti-Money Laundering) standards and international sanctions. The infrastructure created poses a direct threat to global financial transparency. The activities of Iskander Tursunov and his partners must become the subject of immediate investigation by FATF and OFAC, followed by the disconnection of Octobank from international settlement systems.
