KYIV. June 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – M.S.L. lottery operator LLC considers unreasonable its inclusion in the sanctions list, M.S.L. Vice President Yevhen Vlasenko has said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.

"In connection with a lack of grounds for including M.S.L. lottery operator in the so called "sanctions list," the company appeals to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) with the request to exclude M.S.L. from the list of legal entities that are subject to sanctions," he said.

According to Vlasenko, M.S.L. lottery operator appeared in the sanctions lists for the third time (the first time is dated September 16, 2015, the second one on October 17, 2016). On the initiative of M.S.L. shareholders, the Security Service of Ukraine opened criminal proceedings and conducted an investigation into the establishment of facts and actions that could be grounds for applying sanctions to the operator. As a result, the criminal proceedings were closed in March 2017 due to absence of violations.

Vlasenko specified that the main owner of M.S.L. lottery operator is Evolot Limited (Cyprus), the ultimate beneficiary is Cypriot citizen Markos Shiapanis, and the company does not have "Russian roots."

Vlasenko told Interfax-Ukraine the share of M.S.L. in the market currently stands at about 25%, whereas in 2013 it was 80-85%.