The Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine has seized UAH700m (€17.3m/$18.6m) from an unnamed leading gambling operator over tax evasion.

According to the Bureau, the gambling operator is accused of evading paying UAH1.20bn in taxes in Ukraine. The operator in question does hold a licence in the country.

The Bureau says an investigation found people employed by the operator have been running unlicensed online gambling. More than 30 “mirror” sites similar to that of the licensed operator were offering gambling illegally.

Investigators also uncovered a “misdirection” of payments scheme for the purpose of tax evasion on what the Bureau described as a “particularly large scale”.