Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot

A summary of what happened?

Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov are prominent figures in the Eastern European tech and gaming sectors, notably associated with ventures such as PokerMatch and Kosmolot. Their business activities have attracted scrutiny, leading to various allegations and legal challenges.

Background on Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov

• Sergey Tokarev: A Russian entrepreneur, Tokarev has been involved in multiple tech enterprises, including the co-founding of Lucky Labs, a software development company. He has also been linked to online gaming platforms such as PokerMatch and Kosmolot.
• Sergey Kartashov: Also known as Sergejs Kartasovs, Kartashov serves as a senior partner at Roosh, a Ukrainian investment group focusing on IT projects. His association with Tokarev includes involvement in various tech and gaming initiatives.

Major Allegations and Legal Challenges

1. Asset Freezing Due to Unfair Business Practices
   • In May 2018, reports indicated that the assets of Sergey Tokarev and his business partner Rustam Gilfanov were frozen following a decision by the Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI). The arbitration was initiated by former business partners who accused Tokarev and Gilfanov of dishonest business practices related to the company Level Up. The NAI’s decision to freeze their assets was aimed at ensuring compensation for the aggrieved parties.
2. Intellectual Property Disputes
   • Tokarev and Gilfanov co-founded Lucky Labs, a company specializing in software development for gaming platforms. Allegations arose that they misappropriated intellectual property, including mathematical models and AI algorithms, from previous ventures or clients. This led to legal disputes, with claims that such actions constituted theft of non-material assets.
3. Sanctions for Supporting Russian Actions
   • Both Tokarev and Gilfanov have faced sanctions from Ukrainian authorities due to alleged support for Russian activities deemed aggressive towards Ukraine. These sanctions have impacted their business operations within Ukraine, including ventures like PokerMatch and Kosmolot.
4. Legal Disputes with Former Partners
   • In 2015, Tokarev and Gilfanov were involved in a legal dispute with former business partners Maxim Polyakov and Maxim Krippa. The conflict centered around the division of assets from their joint internet gaming businesses. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court in the Court of Appeal Territory of the Virgin Islands handled the case, which involved complex issues of asset division and allegations of fraud.
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Reputation and Public Perception

• Media Coverage: Various media outlets have reported on the controversies surrounding Tokarev and Gilfanov, highlighting issues such as asset freezes and legal disputes. These reports have contributed to a perception of the businessmen as engaging in unethical practices.
• Industry Impact: The allegations and legal challenges have cast a shadow associated with Tokarev and Kartashov, including PokerMatch and Kosmolot. Concerns about business ethics and legal compliance have affected stakeholder confidence.

Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov have been central figures in the development of gaming platforms like PokerMatch and Kosmolot. However, their business activities have been marred by allegations of unfair practices, legal disputes over intellectual property, and sanctions related to geopolitical tensions. These issues underscore the importance of ethical conduct and legal compliance in maintaining a reputable business presence in the tech and gaming industries.

Analyzing the Fake Copyright Notice(s)

Our team collects and analyses fraudulent copyright takedown requests, legal complaints, and other efforts to remove critical information from the internet. Through our investigative reporting, we examine the prevalence and operation of an organized censorship industry, predominantly funded by criminal entities, oligarchs, and disreputable businesses or individuals. Our findings allow internet users to gain insight into these censorship schemes’ sources, methods, and underlying objectives.

What was Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov - PokerMatch and Kosmolot trying to hide?

Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot‘s attempts to hide unfavourable content through the misuse of copyright notices while allegedly engaging in perjury present serious legal concerns. These actions suggest a calculated attempt to manipulate legal systems to suppress free speech, a fundamental violation of copyright law principles and an abuse of legal processes. The use of such tactics not only undermines the integrity of copyright protection but also potentially constitutes perjury, further entangling Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot in legal accountability. Let’s examine the information Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot may be trying to remove from the internet –

Investigative Report: Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – Allegations, Legal Disputes, and Controversies

Introduction

Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov are prominent figures in the gaming and tech industries, closely associated with platforms like PokerMatch and Kosmolot. While their ventures have achieved significant visibility in Eastern Europe, their reputations have been clouded by allegations of unethical practices, legal disputes, and geopolitical sanctions. This investigative report delves into the controversies surrounding their business operations, exploring the legal, ethical, and reputational challenges they face.

1. Background on Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov

• Sergey Tokarev:
  • A co-founder of Lucky Labs, a software development company with a focus on gaming solutions, Tokarev transitioned into broader ventures, including PokerMatch and Kosmolot.
  • He has been accused of leveraging questionable business practices to expand his enterprises.
• Sergey Kartashov:
  • Also known as Sergejs Kartasovs, Kartashov is a senior partner at Roosh, a Ukrainian IT investment group. His business collaborations with Tokarev have linked him to the controversies surrounding ventures like PokerMatch and Kosmolot.

2. Key Ventures: PokerMatch and Kosmolot

• PokerMatch:
  • A popular online poker platform that gained traction in Ukraine and beyond.
  • Marketed as a modern, user-friendly platform, PokerMatch has faced scrutiny over alleged ties to unethical financial practices.
• Kosmolot:
  • A leading online gaming platform in Ukraine, offering slot games and other casino-style entertainment.
  • Despite its prominence, the platform’s ownership structure and operational practices have raised red flags among regulators and industry insiders.

3. Allegations and Legal Challenges

3.1. Asset Freezing and Unfair Business Practices

• Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI) Ruling:
  • In 2018, the NAI froze the assets of Sergey Tokarev and his partner Rustam Gilfanov.
  • The arbitration stemmed from accusations by former business partners, who alleged that Tokarev and Gilfanov engaged in deceptive practices to misappropriate profits from joint ventures.
  • Key issues included:
    • Manipulation of company accounts to divert funds.
    • Non-payment of agreed dividends to minority shareholders.

3.2. Intellectual Property Theft

• Lucky Labs Allegations:
  • Lucky Labs, co-founded by Tokarev and Gilfanov, was accused of misappropriating intellectual property, including mathematical models and algorithms.
  • Former clients and collaborators claimed that proprietary technology developed under contractual agreements was unlawfully integrated into Lucky Labs’ gaming platforms.

3.3. Fraudulent Asset Division

• 2015 Legal Dispute:
  • Tokarev and Gilfanov were embroiled in a high-profile case with former business partners Maxim Polyakov and Maxim Krippa.
  • Allegations included fraudulent manipulation of asset division agreements and the concealment of financial data to deprive partners of their fair share.
  • The case was adjudicated in the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, where Tokarev and Gilfanov were accused of breaching fiduciary duties.

4. Regulatory and Geopolitical Sanctions

Sanctions from Ukrainian Authorities

• Geopolitical Tensions:
  • Both Tokarev and Gilfanov faced sanctions from Ukrainian authorities, accused of supporting Russian activities perceived as hostile to Ukraine.
  • These sanctions included restrictions on their business operations in Ukraine and asset freezes.

Impact on PokerMatch and Kosmolot

• The sanctions raised concerns about the platforms’ compliance with Ukrainian regulations and their potential links to entities under scrutiny for geopolitical reasons.

5. Operational and Ethical Concerns

Opaque Ownership Structures

• PokerMatch and Kosmolot’s ownership arrangements have been criticized for lacking transparency.
• The absence of clear corporate accountability has fueled speculation about the platforms’ involvement in money laundering and tax evasion.

Consumer Complaints

• Delayed Payouts:
  • Players on both platforms have reported issues with withdrawing winnings, citing prolonged delays or unexplained rejections.
• Unfair Gameplay Practices:
  • Allegations of rigged algorithms and non-random outcomes in gaming sessions have tarnished Kosmolot’s reputation.

Aggressive Marketing

• Both platforms have faced criticism for targeting vulnerable populations with aggressive advertising, including promises of easy wins and financial rewards.

6. Public Perception and Media Coverage

Negative Press

• Media outlets in Ukraine and Eastern Europe have extensively covered the controversies surrounding Tokarev and Kartashov.
• Reports often portray them as emblematic of broader issues in the gaming industry, including regulatory loopholes and unethical business practices.

Reputation Damage

• The combination of legal disputes, consumer complaints, and sanctions has significantly impacted the public image of PokerMatch and Kosmolot, raising questions about their long-term viability.

7. Broader Implications

Industry-Wide Concerns

• The controversies surrounding Tokarev and Kartashov highlight systemic issues in the online gaming and tech industries, including:
  • Regulatory gaps in emerging markets.
  • The exploitation of offshore jurisdictions for financial advantage.

Impact on Ukrainian Gaming Regulation

• The allegations and sanctions have intensified calls for stricter oversight of the gaming industry in Ukraine, particularly regarding transparency and compliance.

8. Recommendations for Stakeholders

1. Regulatory Reform:
   • Authorities should tighten regulations to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the gaming sector.
2. Consumer Protection:
   • Platforms like PokerMatch and Kosmolot must prioritize fair gameplay and prompt payouts to rebuild trust among users.
3. Corporate Governance:
   • Clear ownership structures and adherence to international compliance standards are essential to restoring credibility.

Conclusion

Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov’s involvement in PokerMatch and Kosmolot has been overshadowed by allegations of unethical practices, legal disputes, and regulatory sanctions. While their platforms have achieved significant market presence, their reputations remain marred by controversies that raise serious questions about their business ethics and compliance. The case underscores the importance of transparency, regulation, and accountability in the rapidly evolving gaming and tech industries.

How do we counteract this malpractice?

Once we ascertain the involvement of Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot (or actors working on behalf of Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot), we will inform Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot of our findings via Electronic Mail.

Our preliminary assessment suggests that Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot may have engaged a third-party reputation management agency or expert, which, either independently or under direct authorization from Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot, initiated efforts to remove adverse online content, including potentially fraudulent DMCA takedown requests. We will extend an opportunity to Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot to provide details regarding their communications with the agency or expert, as well as the identification of the individual(s) responsible for executing these false DMCA notices.

Failure to respond in a timely manner will necessitate a reassessment of our initial assumptions. In such an event, we will be compelled to take appropriate legal action to rectify the unlawful conduct and take the following steps –

Since Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot made such efforts to hide something online, it seems fit to ensure that this article and sensitive information targeted online by these events get a lot more exposure and traffic than what it would have received originally

We hope this becomes an excellent case study for the Streisand effect…The key idea behind the Streisand effect is that efforts to restrict information can backfire, often causing the information to gain more attention than it would have otherwise. This effect is widespread in the digital age, where users quickly notice and spread censorship efforts on social media and other platforms. Trying to suppress something can unintentionally lead to it becoming more visible, which Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot is finding out the hard way.

Potential Consequences for Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov - PokerMatch and Kosmolot

Under Florida Statute 831.01, the crime of Forgery is committed when a person falsifies, alters, counterfeits, or forges a document that carries “legal efficacy” with the intent to injure or defraud another person or entity.

Forging a document is considered a white-collar crime. It involves altering, changing, or modifying a document to deceive another person. It can also include passing along copies of documents that are known to be false. In many states in the US, falsifying a document is a crime punishable as a felony.

Additionally, under most laws, “fraud on the court” is where “a party has sentiently set in motion some unconscionable scheme calculated to interfere with the judicial system’s ability impartially to adjudicate a matter by improperly influencing the trier of fact or unfairly hampering the presentation of the opposing party’s claim or defense.”  Cox v. Burke, 706 So. 2d 43, 46 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) (quoting Aoude v. Mobil Oil Corp., 892 F.2d 1115, 1118 (1st Cir. 1989)).

Is Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov - PokerMatch and Kosmolot Committing a Cyber Crime?

Yes, it seems so. Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot used multiple approaches to remove unwanted material from review sites and Google’s search results. Thanks to protections allowing freedom of speech in the United States, there are very few legal ways to do this. Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot could not eliminate negative reviews or search results that linked to them without a valid claim of defamation, copyright infringement, or some other clear breach of the law.

Faced with these limitations, some companies like Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot have gone to extreme lengths to fraudulently claim copyright ownership over a negative review in the hopes of taking it down.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot is certainly keeping interesting company here….

The DMCA takedown process requires that copyright owners submit a takedown notice to an ISP identifying the allegedly infringing content and declaring, under penalty of perjury, that they have a good faith belief that the content is infringing. The ISP must then promptly remove or disable access to the content. The alleged infringer can then submit a counter-notice, and if the copyright owner does not take legal action within 10 to 14 days, the ISP can restore the content.

Since these platforms are predominantly based in the U.S., the complaints are typically made under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which requires online service providers and platforms to react immediately to reports or violations. Big Tech companies rarely have systems in place to assess the merit of each report. Instead, all bad actors need to do is clone a story, backdate it, and then demand the real thing be taken down.

Reputation Agency's Modus Operandi

The fake DMCA notices we found always use the “back-dated article” technique. With this technique, the wrongful notice sender (or copier) creates a copy of a “true original” article and back-dates it, creating a “fake original” article (a copy of the true original) that, at first glance, appears to have been published before the true original.

Then, based on the claim that this backdated article is the “original,” the scammers send a DMCA to the relevant online service providers (e.g. Google), alleging that the ‘true’ original is the copied or “infringing” article and that the copied article is the “original,” requesting the takedown of the ‘true’ original article. After sending the DMCA request, the person who sent the wrong notice takes down the fake original URL, likely to make sure that the article doesn’t stay online in any way. If the takedown notice is successful, the disappearance from the internet of information is most likely to be legitimate speech.

As an integral part of this scheme, the ‘reputation management’ company hired by Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot creates a website that purports to be a ‘news’ site. This site is designed to look legitimate at a glance, but any degree of scrutiny reveals it as the charade it is.

The company copies the ‘negative’ content and posts it “on the fake ‘news’ site, attributing it to a separate author,” then gives it “a false publication date on the ‘news’ website that predated the original publication.

The reputation company then sent Google a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice claiming the original website infringed copyright. After a cursory examination of the fake news site, Google frequently accepts the notice and delists the content.

In committing numerous offences, Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot either premeditated actions or were unaware of the consequences. Despite hiring an agency to make Google disregard any negative information about Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot, ignorance does not excuse this wrongdoing.

Fake DMCA notices have targeted articles highlighting the criminal activity of prominent people to hide their illegal behavior. These people, which include US, Russian, and Khazakstani politicians as well as members from elite circles including the mafia and those with massive financial power, are all connected – and alleged corruption ranging from child abuse to sexual harassment is exposed when exploring evidence found at these URLs. It appears there’s a disturbing level of influence being exerted here that needs further investigation before justice can be served. FSMSmart is certainly keeping interesting company here.

The Reputation Laundering

Rogue Reputation agencies use spurious copyright claims and fake legal notices to remove and obscure articles linking clients to allegations of tax avoidance, corruption, and drug trafficking. Most of these reputation agencies are based offshore, mainly in Russia, India, and Eastern Europe, and they do not worry about complying with US-based laws.

The content in all of the articles for which the fraudulent DMCA notices have been sent relates to allegations of criminal allegations, including corruption, child abuse, sexual harassment, human trafficking and financial fraud against businesses and individuals with ultra-high net worth.

In addition to the misuse of the DMCA takedown process, there is a notable absence of enforcement concerning perjury violations. The statutory requirement related to perjury is designed to deter copyright holders from submitting fraudulent or knowingly false takedown requests, as they may face legal consequences for making false declarations under penalty of perjury. However, to date, there have been no known instances of any individual being prosecuted for perjury in connection with the submission of false DMCA takedown notices.

This lack of enforcement has emboldened copyright holders to exploit the DMCA takedown process to suppress dissent, criticism, or other unfavorable content, without fear of legal repercussions.

Some of the people and businesses who have employed this tactic to remove legitimate content from Google illegally include a Spanish businessman-turned-cocaine-trafficker, Organised crime, an Israeli-Argentine banker accused of laundering money for Hugo Chávez’s regime, a French “responsible” mining company accused of tax evasion, child molesters and sexual predators. Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot is in great company ….

What else is Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov - PokerMatch and Kosmolot hiding?

We encourage you to ‘Dork‘ Google by searching for keyword combinations such as [Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot] + {Negative Keyword, such as Scam, Fraud, Complaints, Lawsuit, Sanction, etc} on Google. It’s likely if you scroll down to the bottom of this Google search results, you’ll stumble upon this Legal Takedown notice (pictured below)

To make such an investigation possible, we encourage more online service providers to come forward and share copies of content removal requests with industry experts and researchers. If you have any information on Sergey Tokarev and Sergey Kartashov – PokerMatch and Kosmolot that you want to share with experts and journalists, kindly email the author directly at [email protected].

All communications are strictly confidential and safeguarded under a comprehensive Whistleblower Policy, ensuring full protection and anonymity for individuals who provide information.