Kazakhstan's financial monitoring agency has put the alleged organisers of the Pinco and Pin-Up online casinos on an international wanted list.
Kazakhstan's financial monitoring agency has put the alleged organisers of the Pinco and Pin-Up online casinos on an international wanted list.
Russian citizen Dmitry Punin and Ukrainian citizen Marina Ilyina are accused of running an illegal gambling business in Kazakhstan. Investigators say the Kazakh arm, a company called Bonami, held a bookmaker licence under the PIN-UP.KZ brand but used it as cover for an online casino. Total transactions in the scheme exceeded 106 billion tenge, according to the agency.
Both suspects face pre-trial detention if detained, and the agency has asked anyone with information on their whereabouts to come forward.
Why it matters: online casinos dressed up as licensed betting shops are a region-wide problem, draining money across borders faster than regulators can follow it. This case is Kazakhstan drawing a public line, and naming names.
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