Ukraine's SBU State Security Agency has said its agents blocked the work of eight underground casinos and 35 gaming establishments in six regions of Ukraine: Kyiv, Dnipro, Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia.

"During a special operation that was commissioned by the Ukraine's president, special services operatives seized 337 units of various gaming equipment, including 11 roulette wheels and 33 poker tables and almost UAH 1 million received from illegal activities," the SBU's press service said Friday.

Special services operatives have established exactly where clandestine casinos and gambling establishments operate, which are "protected" by law enforcement agencies. Hundreds of searches took place, both at the addresses of the location of the institutions and at the place of residence of the persons involved in cases.

The special operation was carried out jointly with the bodies of the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) and prosecutors.

A number of criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 203-2 (illegal gambling) and Part 2 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position, entailing grave consequences) of Ukraine's Criminal Code have been opened. The pretrial investigation is ongoing.