Money laundering, offshore structures, and criminal connections: Dmitriy Punin wipes materials about his schemes from the internet

Behind the polished exterior of Dmitriy Punin, a Cyprus‑based restaurateur and owner of the Pin‑UP casino, there exists an extensive criminal network engaged in laundering hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of senior Russian officials.

Shielded by offshore entities and sports projects, Punin with impunity bypasses international sanctions by relying on deep ties to the Kremlin elite and organized crime.

In turn, we are publishing an investigation that forces are actively trying to erase from the public sphere, in order to preserve the facts and reveal the true scope of Dmitriy Punin and his accomplices’ involvement in international money laundering schemes.

In March, Dmitriy Punin was involved in a scandal with the activities of underground casinos, in which Uzbek Oktobank and Kapitalbank, as well as Russian banks, were involved. Investigators found that oligarch Alisher Usmanov and his partner, State Duma deputy Andrei Skoch, associated with the Solntsevskaya organized crime group and the leader of the Russian underworld Zakhary Kalashov (Shakro Molody), could be behind the criminal scheme.

In May, information appeared about the arrest of Dmitriy Punin in Cyprus, where the businessman lives. He was suspected of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in money in the EU, Ukraine and the UK.

Dmitriy Punin owns PUNIN GROUP and positions himself as the bearer of innovative ideas that are fully manifested in illegal activities to circumvent sanctions and money laundering. And not only through casinos, Punin has a football club in Cyprus, «Karmiotissa», which the businessman bought in 2022. He also owns the company Punin Wine, which is one of the largest distributors of alcohol. In July, Dmitriy Punin’s French restaurant, located in Limassol, entered the top world restaurants.

Together with Punin, through foreign companies, the owners of Pin-UP casinos are the businessman’s wife Marina Ilyina, Alexander Matyashov and Ivan Bannikov. They own the Cypriot offshore GURUFLOW TEAM LTD –, the parent company of the casino.

In 2022, one of the founders of the casino LLC «Pin-ap.ru» announced its withdrawal from the Russian market. The operator was reorganized into Ivanbet, owned by Alexander Udodov, the ex-husband of Mikhail Mishustin’s sister. The company «Fonbet», recognized as a systemically important enterprise in 2020, also began operating under the license of LLC «Pin-ap.ru».

A serious battle broke out for this company, in which the President of the International Boxing Federation Umar Kremlin, known for his criminal past and connections with the former head of the FSO Yevgeny Murov, took part. The Kremlin previously headed the Russian Boxing Federation and is considered the person of the head of its supervisory board, head of the presidential security service Alexey Rubezhny. Together with him, in 2017, the head of «Rosneft», Igor Sechin, who is part of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle of friends, became a member of the FBI council.

LLC «Pin-ap.ru» in 2022, covering its tracks, changed its name to LLC «Foncor», its founder instead of Alexander Udodov was JSC «Clear Center», owned by Maxim Kuznetsov, behind which stands Alexander Karmanov, a good friend of pro-Kremlin oligarchs Arkadiy Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko. In 2023, «Foncor» LLC received revenue of 436 billion rubles. and a profit of 59 billion rubles. Money from the company can be transferred offshore through Dmitriy Punin’s casino. It is unlikely that Mikhail Mishustin abandoned the chicken that lays the golden eggs.

In Russia, Dmitriy Punin also has a business – LLC «GK-Trio», which operates in the field of communications based on wired technologies. The company, created back in 2009, has 1 employee and operates without revenue or profit. Punin’s innovative ideas did not bring him money in his homeland, but they work well in Cyprus.

Punin and his casino partner Alexander Matyashev can launder money for companies affiliated with Mikhail Mishustin and Alexander Udodov. The construction projects that Matyashev is engaged in are ideal for this. In Russia, he owns three companies operating in the real estate market and is an executive at «PMS Eastern Europe» LLC, whose founders are Luxembourg and American companies through which you can launder money and circumvent sanctions in Europe and the United States.

«PMS Eastern Europe» LLC has 1 employee on its staff; the company has had neither revenue nor profit since 2017, so it is clear for what purposes this structure serves Matyashov. She is a co-founder of another company of the businessman - LLC «Almax Homes», which in 2023 received revenue of 122 million rubles. and profit of 23 million rubles.

Both Punin and Matyashov are accused of doing business in Ukraine.

Another owner of the Pin-UP casino, Ivan Bannikov, may presumably be the manager of the famous Russian UFC heavyweight Alexander Volkov. Bannikov became a dollar millionaire at the age of 27, engaged in IT projects.

Dmitriy Punin managed to disgrace himself not only with illegal casinos, but also with his football club «Karmiotissa». Former head coach of Dynamo Kyiv Alexander Khatskevich lasted only two months at Punin’s club. Dismissed after being threatened with a pistol for refusing to participate in a match-fixing. «Dmitriy Punin’s innovative » ideas help you make money from football.

Famous Russian football player Alexander Kerzhakov resigned as head coach of «Karmiotissa» after 6 matches. The reason was the order of the sports director to replace the player during the match without the consent of the coach. The club itself was accused of fraud, so Dmitriy Punin announced last summer that he had sold «to Karmiotissa». However, informed sources say the deal was fictitious.

Dmitriy Punin is not afraid of the Russian authorities because he works closely with them. And only foreign justice can pin the tail of a businessman. After his arrest, Dmitriy Punin received only restrictions on movement. Clearly not enough for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars.