Vavada Payments in Kazakhstan Ran Through 23 Drop Accounts
More than KZT415 million ($939,000) in Vavada player payments passed through 23 third-party bank accounts in Kazakhstan. Investigators also found a rented office in Karaganda where operators worked around the clock.
The setup had been running since January 2026, according to Kazakhstan’s Agency for Financial Monitoring. The agency says the organizers had agreed with representatives of Vavada to handle deposits and withdrawals inside Kazakhstan.
The work was split between several people. One suspect stayed in contact with the casino side and coordinated the group. Another found account holders, obtained access to their bank accounts and recruited operators.
Those operators worked shifts from the Karaganda office. It was open 24 hours a day.
Investigators counted 23 drop accounts in total. More than KZT415 million went through them. The AFM has not published a split between deposits and withdrawals.
23 Accounts and One 24-Hour Office
The office is an important part of the case. The AFM is not describing 23 account holders independently moving casino money from their own devices. Operators had access to the accounts and processed payments from a separate workplace.
The available details leave a fairly simple structure: contact with Vavada representatives, local organizers, hired operators and 23 bank accounts used for player payments.
The agency has not said how many people owned those accounts, which banks held them or how long individual accounts remained in use.
At the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s September 28 official rate of KZT441.88 per US dollar, KZT415 million is about $939,000.
Dropper Networks Have Moved KZT113B This Year
The Vavada operation is small next to the wider volume of drop-account activity already identified by Kazakh authorities. In its first-half 2026 report, the AFM said it had found 36 dropper cells. Their accounts handled KZT113 billion ($255.7 million at the September 28 rate).
The KZT415 million identified in the Vavada case is less than 0.4% of that amount. This is a scale comparison only. The agency has not said whether the Karaganda transactions were included in its H1 figures.
Two suspects in the Vavada case are under house arrest. A court also authorized the seizure of a private house, two land plots and a Mercedes-Benz.
The investigation has been completed and the criminal case sent to court. The AFM said it would not disclose further information under Article 201 of Kazakhstan’s Criminal Procedure Code.