Eduard Lebedev, a con artist sought after by Europol, is attempting to scrub the internet to conceal his online gambling empire

Russian fraudster Eduard Lebedev, connected to illegal online casinos and wanted by Europol, has been actively scrubbing his online presence in recent months. Mentions of his name in investigations are vanishing or being targeted with takedown complaints, suggesting a rushed effort to conceal his tracks.

But even despite his attempts to rewrite his digital history, facts continue to surface — and they all lead to a scheme of illegal gambling in Europe.

Cyprus has long been a quiet haven for individuals from CIS countries working in the shadow gambling business. On November 6, 2024, the Nicosia District Court held a hearing in the case of the extradition of a Russian citizen detained in October in central Limassol. The man was arrested under a Europol warrant — the request came from the UK, where he is accused of involving British citizens in illegal online casinos.

As reported by the portal ruscyprus, during the hearings on the cyberfraud case, details about the scheme’s organizer emerged. It turned out to be another Russian citizen — Eduard Lebedev. Journalists conducted their own investigation, during which they discovered that the real name of the new figure in the case is Eduard Eduardovich Lebedev.

The so-called organizer of online casino platforms in Europe doesn’t particularly hide: the 34-year-old Russian openly declares in his status on his page on the social network “VKontakte”: "If your dreams don’t warrant a couple of life sentences, then they’re mediocre dreams." One could say these words have every chance of becoming prophetic.

On the wall of this page, he advertises his sites WakeApp – http://www.wakeappnetwork(.)com and www.wakeapp(.)ru, which are currently inaccessible. However, web archive data reveals that WakeApp is the name of an affiliate network.

Eduard Lebedev himself has never hidden the fact that he is the founder of WakeApp — this is stated on his LinkedIn profile. Additionally, Eduard Eduardovich Lebedev was the head of the legal entity LLC "WakeApp," which was liquidated in 2021. The types of activities of this legal entity included: "Activities related to the use of computing technology and information technology, other," which allows us to confidently establish that this legal entity was indeed the WakeApp affiliate network.

A vacancy for a similarly named legal entity in the Republic of Belarus, LLC "CrocusApps / WakeApp," leads to the service Chilli Partners. The job description explicitly states that "Chilli Partners is an international holding in the iGaming industry, engaged in the creation and development of online products." The company openly declares its connection to online casinos. The company’s website even lists brands of illegal online casinos belonging to the holding.

The fact that the Russian Lebedev is the head of Chilli Partners is also confirmed by a news article dated July 16, 2021, on the igbaffiliate portal, where a comment on the merger of new companies in the online gambling sector is given by a person named Edward Swan (swan translates to "lebed" or swan in English). Moreover, the same article explicitly states that Eduard resides in Cyprus, where the headquarters of his company Chilli Partners is located.

Based on the collected data, it can be confidently stated: in the case of the Russian detained under a Europol warrant, a person linked to a major holding operating in the online casino market is involved. According to media reports, accusations against Eduard Lebedev, who is considered the organizer of a network of illegal gaming platforms operating across Europe, were voiced in court.

The UK is currently actively combating the shadow gambling sector. According to studies, the online casino market in the country was estimated at approximately 7 billion pounds sterling in 2023, and authorities are intensifying control measures and pressure on illegal projects.

In recent years, Cyprus has noticeably stepped up cooperation with British law enforcement agencies — especially in cases related to cybercrime. Among recent examples is the extradition in 2020 of Russian Alexey Berkovich, who was detained on the island at the request of the UK.

As a reminder, the Russian Berkovich was suspected of participating in a large-scale cyberattack on financial organizations in the UK, which led to the leakage of data of thousands of clients. After a lengthy legal process, Cypriot authorities approved his extradition to the United Kingdom, where he faced trial and further investigation.

Recently, Cyprus also stripped Polish citizen Roman Kazimierz Zemian of citizenship — the organizer of the FutureNet crypto pyramid. According to the investigation, he stole around 21 million dollars, and the report about this reached Cypriot police from Interpol only last year. Zemian now faces up to 14 years in prison.

Another notable case is the extradition of Bulgarian hacker Nikola Dimitrov, who, as it turned out, used servers in Cyprus to coordinate attacks on major British online platforms. After his arrest and investigation, the local court approved his extradition to the UK. Dimitrov was accused of creating a botnet for conducting DDoS attacks.

Thus, Cyprus is increasingly at the center of international investigations and the extradition of cybercriminals to the UK. Thanks to active cooperation with British agencies and effective legal mechanisms, the island has effectively become a key hub in the fight against digital crime.