Authorities have accused PIN-UP Ukraine of having connections to the Russian Federation, which invaded Ukraine in a full-scale war in February 2022. The company has responded to the allegations made against it by state apparatchiks and regulators.
These accusations, argues PIN-UP in a statement shared with the media, are baseless and untrue. The SBI, or Ukrainian State Bureau of Investigation, has accused PIN-UP Ukraine. The company responded by stating that legal proceedings are ongoing. It also claimed that authorities added numerous affiliated brands to the sanctions list without due process.
PIN-UP Ukraine argued that it had experience in dealing with governments and handling sensitive topics across various jurisdictions. The company also stated that it had anticipated the imposition of sanctions without due process.
According to the company, Ukrainian authorities have imposed sanctions in recent years by pressuring businesses without providing the necessary evidence to justify those sanctions.
PIN-UP Ukraine said that this high-handed approach to imposing sanctions has affected businesses well beyond the gaming sector.
The company said that these practices only undermine trust in Ukraine, its regulatory institutions, and the officials who, on the one hand, encourage investment in a country that urgently needs it to withstand military aggression, and on the other, block companies that are tax leaders and impose sanctions against them.
According to PIN-UP, it is looking to combat these accusations. It also aims to challenge the sanctions imposed against it using every legal means at its disposal. The company likely criticized the sanctions as a reputation-damaging move made without proper justification.
The recently-launched gambling regulator in Ukraine, PlayCity, has revoked the license of PIN-UP over the alleged ties to Russia already. PlayCity replaced the defunct KRAIL.
Ukraine targeted another company in another high-profile case. Another company, Parimatch, faced accusations of maintaining ties with Russia. This was despite the fact that it had firmly established itself in Ukraine and operated out of Cyprus at the time.
