Penza, 26 November 2015. PenzaNews. The officers of the Economic Security and Corruption Prevention Office under the Penza region Ministry of the Interior Department have closed down four illegal gambling parlors, in a joint operation with the regional Investigative Committee branch.

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Three of the parlors were located in the Penza city center, and one more was found on the outskirts, the press service of the department told PenzaNews agency.

“A group of people have created the gambling parlors. They shipped in the equipment, hired the staff and arranged to attract the clients. The parlors worked under the cover of a gaming equipment lease company: gamblers paid for ‘renting a computer,’ the manager rewarded them with virtual points to bet, and payouts were disguised as 30-year loans, all to maintain a semblance of legal activity,” they explained.

According to the police, the raid through the four parlors resulted in 67 seized gambling machines and nearly 200,000 rubles, supposedly a day’s earning of the locations.

“Four citizens – Penza residents aged 25 to 35 – were found to be involved in orchestrating and managing gambling activities in the illegal parlors. They have been detained,” department explained.

In turn, Lyudmila Fomina, Senior Assistant of the Head of the Investigative Department of the city Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, explained to PenzaNews agency that they have initiated a criminal case under Art. 171.2 of the Criminal Code, titled “Illegal Organizing and Conducting Games of Chance.”

“We are taking the necessary measures to establish the whole picture of the criminal scheme and gather the evidence,” the she explained.