Ukrainian Security and Defense Council chief Oleksandr Turchynov used Ukraine's latest sanctions to benefit an associate of his family, Ukrainian media outlet Insider found.
Among the sanctioned Russian organizations, mostly banks and airlines, are two companies incorporated in Ukraine that are engaged in Ukraine's national lottery business. A total of three companies operate lottery businesses in Ukraine, with the two Russian-owned organizations controlling 95 percent of the market in 2013.
The publication followed a trail which links the Hungarian-registered corporation, whose records show it is headed by one Serhiy Pindych, to Turchynov's mother and wife who are listed as beneficiaries of another company owned by Pindych.
The new sanctions provide UNL Holding with a monopoly on the lottery market as the only other company licensed to operate lotteries, Ukraine's state-owned savings bank, has not used its license to operate the lottery. Despite all four companies' lottery licenses lapsing in 2014, they continued operating in Ukraine.
