Construction Business Links to Online Casino Fraud Networks
12 March 2026
- “A $60 million investment in Borjomi will see the construction of a Wyndham Grand 5-star multi-functional balneological complex.”
- “In Didi Digomi, Tbilisi, a new multi-functional mall will be built on a 43,100 square meter plot of land at the Goodwill hypermarket site.”
Recent news in Georgian business publications reveals that the development company “Upco” is implementing several large-scale construction projects across the country.
“Monitori” has investigated and will show you the links between major Georgian construction projects and a network of unlicensed online casinos operating in Europe.
Victims
Gamstop is an online platform that helps UK residents control their gambling addiction. According to the platform, they have over half a million users—some have overcome their addiction, while others took a break to save money and focus on other issues.
The platform works as follows: if a person registers with Gamstop, their online accounts with UK-licensed gambling companies are blocked for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 5 years.
In December last year, “The Guardian” published a story about the suicide of Ollie who was battling gambling addiction and was registered with Gamstop. However, family members stated that before his death, he had made numerous transfers to recipients whose accounts were linked to “Donbet”, another unlicensed online casino in the UK.
Who Owns the Unlicensed Online Casinos Operating in the UK?
Online gambling is legal in most European countries, but many have strict regulations. For example, in the UK, operating an online casino without a license from the local Gambling Commission is a criminal offense. Despite this, it appears that numerous online casinos linked to “MyStake” manage to operate illegally in the UK.
The websites for “Donbet” and “MyStake” indicate that both are operated by GTW B.V., a company registered offshore in Curaçao (Caribbean Islands). While GTW B.V. was licensed by the Curaçao authorities, the license expired on December 24, 2025. Currently, the Curaçao online gaming license registry states that GTW B.V.’s licensing is “Assessment in progress”.
Obtaining a gambling license in an offshore jurisdiction like Curaçao offers many advantages to operators: fast registration, low taxes, and the ability to operate internationally. However, Curaçao-licensed casinos are prohibited from accepting users from certain countries—such as the UK, where operating without a UKGC (UK Gambling Commission) license is a violation of the Gambling Act 2005 and a criminal offense.
The payment agent for the Curaçao-registered GTW B.V. (the casino operator) is a Cyprus-registered company, CYGTW LTD.
A payment agent is a company that mediates money transfers between the casino and the players: it receives money from the player and transfers it to the casino, or vice versa—transfers winnings from the casino to the player.
CYGTW LTD and another Cypriot company, “Santeda International Ltd”, share the same address and director. Furthermore, the owner of CYGTW LTD, Katerina Iosif, is a former director of SANTEDA INTERNATIONAL LIMITED.
“Santeda International Ltd” is the payment agent for the Curaçao-licensed operator “Santeda International B.V.”, which owns another unlicensed casino operating in the UK, “Goldenbet”. Santeda International B.V. also owns casinos such as Velobet, Zizobet, Rolletto, Cosmobet, and others. Moreover, last year MyStake and Donbet were also under the ownership of Santeda International B.V.
Similar to GTW B.V., the Curaçao registry indicates that Santeda International B.V.’s license was valid until December 24, 2025, and is currently “”Assessment in progress”.
Santeda’s links to Georgia
“Santeda International Ltd” was incorporated in Cyprus on February 5, 2020; however, the company’s name at the time was “Onyxion Development Limited.” The founder of the latter was a Georgian citizen, Onise Chimakhidze, who on May 11, 2020, sold his shares to a Curaçao-registered company, Onyxion B.V.
It was this company that previously owned the aforementioned online casinos operating without licenses in the United Kingdom. It appears that as early as 2021-22, Greece blacklisted online casinos owned by Onyxion B.V., including Rolletto, MyStake, and Goldenbet.
On July 12, 2022, “Onyxion Development Limited” was renamed Santeda International Ltd. In the ownership records, Onyxion B.V. was replaced by Santeda International B.V., also based in Curaçao.
While the names changed, the activities did not. Consequently, in 2024-25, Greece blacklisted Santeda International B.V. and its online casinos, including MyStake, Velobet, Donbet, Rolletto, and Cosmobet.
In 2024, Sweden banned Santeda International B.V.’s online casinos for unlicensed operations within its territory, while Australia issued an official warning.
What Links “Upgaming” to the Santeda Network?
In Georgia, the company Upgaming maintains an active promotional campaign, describing itself as an “international software provider operating since 2014 in international markets and represented in five countries: Georgia, Switzerland, Germany, Malta, and Bulgaria.”
Promotional articles in the Georgian digital space claim that Upgaming creates innovative digital products and services, boasting over 250 international partners and more than 500 employees. The company frequently showcases employee achievements and corporate culture through videos on YouTube and TikTok.
Upgaming AG was founded in Switzerland in the spring of 2020 by five Georgian citizens: Tornike Tvauri, Mikheil Merebashvili, Lasha Meladze, Merab Chikvinidze, and Aleksandre Maqashvili. Their partner in the company is a German citizen, Deniz Yildirim. The Swiss-based Upgaming AG has subsidiaries and affiliated companies both in Georgia and abroad.
In 2020, the Swiss Upgaming registered “Upgaming AG-Georgia Branch” in Georgia, and in 2023, “Upgaming LLC” was established. Additionally, Upgaming AG has a subsidiary in Ukraine – APHEIMINH YUA TOV.
In 2023, the Georgian entity, Upgaming LLC, obtained a “permit to provide gambling and/or profitable games” in Georgia, valid until October 17, 2028. According to the company’s 2024 financial report, its revenue primarily consists of services provided to Upgaming AG, such as network administration, full website design, payment method integration, licensing consulting, and technical support.
In 2024, the revenue of Upgaming LLC amounted to 24,631,397 GEL, of which nearly 19 million GEL was spent on employee salaries and benefits.
We asked Tornike Tvauri, the head and co-founder of Upgaming, about the links between his company and Santeda, the owner of unlicensed online casinos in Europe.
“SANTEDA INTERNATIONAL BV is a client of the Cypriot company UPGAMING LTD, which belongs to the UPGAMING group. Our contract prohibits us from disclosing commercial information to third parties; therefore, we are not authorized to provide detailed information on specific products/services… Our role is limited to providing clearly defined technical and digital services based on commercial agreements and in full compliance with current legislation. These services do not include supervising the client’s operational activities or evaluating their business model,” Tvauri stated.
When asked if he had information regarding Santeda’s unlicensed operations in Europe, Tvauri replied: “We categorically deny any suggestion that our company had, or should have had, information that any client was involved in illegal or ‘black market’ activities. Contractually, clients are prohibited from using UPGAMING services in jurisdictions where they do not hold a valid gambling license. We are currently investigating whether the client provided our products in such jurisdictions without authorization. If confirmed, we reserve the right to terminate our services.”
Is Tvauri’s claim of ignorance regarding Santeda International B.V.’s unlicensed operations credible? Let’s look at the facts: As mentioned, the Greek Gambling Commission blacklisted Santeda/Onyxion-linked casinos between 2021 and 2025. In 2023, the online casino 31bet.com, owned by ONYXION MALTA LIMITED, was blacklisted, followed by 31.casino in 2025.
The owners of the Malta-registered OnyxioN Malta Limited are none other than “Upgaming” founders Tornike Tvauri and Deniz Yildirim.
Regarding the Greek blacklisting, Tvauri stated: “I truly had no information. The Greek state automatically blocks all online casino domains not licensed in Greece, regardless of whether they operate there. This is a preventive mechanism.”
We also asked about the connection between his Maltese company and the Cypriot SANTEDA INTERNATIONAL, which was previously also named ONYXION. Tvauri claimed the name was simply a suggestion from Maltese consultants to ensure fast registration after other names were found to be taken.
However, research shows the link goes beyond a shared name.
A photograph from November 2024 shows Onise Chimakhidze (founder of Santeda International Ltd/Onyxion Development Limited) and his wife, Gvantsa Chimakhidze, in Malta, where Upgaming was participating in the SiGMA Europe 2024 exhibition.
Furthermore, social media photos reveal that Onise Chimakhidze’s wife and Eter Gigauri, the wife of Upgaming co-founder Lasha Meladze, are close friends. Another link between Meladze and Santeda is confirmed by documents showing Lasha Meladze as a shareholder of THUNDERSPIN LTD. The former director of Thunderspin, Christos Samaras, has served as a director for both Santeda International Ltd and CYGTW LTD at various times.
While Onise Chimakhidze and Lasha Meladze’s representatives left our questions unanswered, Tvauri responded: “Mr. Onise Chimakhidze is not associated with Upgaming… They may have been invited to the exhibition as close friends of one of the founders. THUNDERSPIN LTD belongs to Lasha Meladze and his partners; it is his independent business and has no connection to UPGAMING AG.”
Construction Projects Funded by Illegal Gambling?
The developer “Upco” is owned by JSC Finvest Georgia. The owners of “Finvest Georgia” are Tornike Tvauri, Lasha Meladze, Merab Chikvinidze, Mikheil Merebashvili, and Aleksandre Maqashvili — the same founders of the Swiss “Upgaming”.
Upco is building residential and commercial complexes across Tbilisi (Lisi, Sarajishvili, Digomi), as well as hotels in Likani and Shekvetili. It also owns land in Martkopi and Ujarma. According to Upco’s 2024 financial report, the company received long-term preferential loans from non-financial institutions (related and unrelated parties) totaling 67,794,999 GEL, with interest rates between 2% and 8% and a 5-year repayment term.
According to the document we obtained, a company registered in Cyprus – “Upgaming Limited” – provided a loan of more than 6 million euros to the Georgian company “Upco”.
Tvauri says that the loans to Upco were part of “lawful tax optimization” and that all entities undergo strict financial and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) audits.
Ties to “Georgian Dream”
Two years ago, Studio Monitori published an investigation titled “Gambling Business on the Construction Site,” which showed that owners of Betlive, one of the largest gambling companies, are heavily involved in massive construction projects.
At that time, we discovered that Tamaz Kharaidze, the brother-in-law of Aleksandre Ivanishvili (brother of Bidzina Ivanishvili), holds shares in Betlive. Kharaidze’s brother-in-law, Teimuraz Kopaleishvili, is the director of Betlive. Another owner is Nana Janashia, widow of David Velijanashvili. We previously asked the former Minister of Internal Affairs, Vakhtang Gomelauri, if he was a close friend and godfather to Velijanashvili’s child, but he did not respond.
Then we asked Nana Janashia if she could confirm the relationship with Gomelauri. She answered: “Why should I confirm what has been said 9,000 times? I have no desire to talk to you”.
The current head of Upgaming, Tornike Tvauri, is the former director of Betlive. Furthermore, the largest shareholders of Betlive—Aleksi Modebadze, Aleksandre Tsulukidze, and Lasha Kvachadze—are shareholders in the construction company Blox and partners in construction firms linked to Upgaming.
The founders of Upgaming, along with Lasha Kvachadze (one of the owners of Betlive and Blox), possess other construction companies, such as Georgia 2030 LLC. This specific company became the owner of the Hotel Georgia, located at 12 Melikishvili Ave, Tbilisi, which was previously owned by Cartu Bank—a bank associated with Bidzina Ivanishvili.
“I am an apolitical individual and have no connections with Bidzina Ivanishvili. The purchase of Hotel Georgia is a standard business project, which we acquired from Cartu Bank through communication with and assistance from the former owner,” Tornike Tvauri told us.
He further explained that the purchase agreement included mutual obligations, and during this period, the property was mortgaged by Cartu Bank: “As of today, all obligations have been met by both parties, and the property is now mortgaged by TBC Bank. Additionally, a prohibition has been registered in the obligations column in favor of a new buyer—an international group with whom a contract has already been signed. Ownership will soon transfer to them. I hope Tbilisi will soon have another high-quality hotel.”
We have discovered further links between companies associated with Upgaming and representatives of the “Georgian Dream” party, which we will detail in our next investigative report.
Correction:
The article was corrected on June 29, 2026, and all information based on the report published in December 2025 by the United Kingdom-based organization “Gaming Industry Accreditation, Monitoring and Registration Service” [GAMRS] – “SANTEDA INTERNATIONAL B.V RYKER B.V – Illegal Gambling Report” was removed.
On June 24, 2026, the legal department of the company “UpGaming” wrote to us that the organization “GAMRS” and DEAL ME OUT are fully managed by Mr. Jordan Lea and that one of the contractors of this organization, Joao Mar, publicly stated the fact of the ordered black PR campaign against “UpGaming” via “LinkedIn” and also wrote an official letter to “UpGaming”, a copy of which was also sent to us.
Jordan Lea confirmed in an email to The Monitor that the GAMRS report was removed from their website after they received a notice from UpGaming dated April 1, 2026, stating that they had terminated their contract with Santeda.
“We welcome Upgaming’s right of correction and can confirm GAMRS, nor DEAL ME OUT consider them to have any connection with illegal gambling as of our last communication.
We do however disagree that GAMRS was paid to discredit Upgaming, that is not the case. Upon investigating that their service were being used incorrectly, this was stopped, as a result, GAMRS removed all content”, – reads the letter from Jordan Lea, who also told us that they have not had any communication with Joao Mar regarding the above letter.
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