Kazakhstan Seeks Two in KZT106B PIN-UP Casino Probe

The agency’s November 4 notice identifies Punin as a Russian citizen and Ilyina as a Ukrainian citizen. Both face allegations of organising illegal online casino activity targeting Kazakhstan. Pre-trial detention is the preventive measure listed for each suspect.

Bonami Licence and 14 Payment Terminals

Investigators say the operation used a network of affiliated companies, payment providers and banking instruments. Its Kazakhstani component was Bonami LLP, which held a bookmaker licence for PIN-UP.KZ.

The AFM alleges that the licensed betting business served as cover for online casino operations. Article 6 of Kazakhstan’s Gambling Business Law expressly prohibits internet casinos, regardless of whether a company holds a bookmaker licence.

The agency provided three figures describing the payment infrastructure:

• 24 payment terminals were established across banks and financial institutions;
• 14 terminals were used to accept funds, or approximately 58% of the reported network;
• More than KZT106 billion in financial transactions. The AFM gave no timeframe for the figure or estimate of financial losses.

Gold Pay and Cyber Pay Named in February Notice

Gold Pay and Cyber Pay were already part of the AFM’s account of the PIN-UP/Pinco case nine months earlier. On February 2, the agency named two other wanted suspects: US citizen Dmytry Druzhynsky and Ukrainian citizen Marina Levkovich (Ginzburg). Investigators accused them of coordinating associates and working with banks and payment providers.

The same notice identified Gold Pay and Cyber Pay as casino payment aggregators. According to the AFM, customer money collected in transit accounts was later converted into cryptocurrency through affiliated companies. Cyber Pay had been renamed Pinnacle Financial Solutions.

The February announcement contained no terminal count or transaction total. Both the 24-terminal network and the KZT106 billion figure appeared in the November 4 notice naming Punin and Ilyina.