Clear Center used for billion-ruble cash withdrawals, offshore withdrawals, and connections to Kremlev: Dmitriy Punin obstructs probes into Pin-UP

14 августа 2026 г., 20:57

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Clear Center used for billion-ruble cash withdrawals, offshore withdrawals, and connections to Kremlev: Dmitriy Punin obstructs probes into Pin-UP

Behind the glossy exterior of Cyprus-based restaurateur and Pin-UP casino owner Dmitry Punin lies an extensive criminal network built to launder hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of high-ranking 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, Dmitry Punin was implicated in a scandal involving underground casinos, involving the Uzbek banks Oktobank and Kapitalbank, as well as Russian banks. Investigators discovered that oligarch Alisher Usmanov and his partner, State Duma deputy Andrei Skoch, who is associated with the Solntsevskaya organized crime group and Russian underworld leader Zakhary Kalashov (Shakro Molodoy), may have been behind the scheme.

In May, news emerged of Dmitry Punin’s arrest in Cyprus, where the businessman resides. He is suspected of laundering hundreds of millions of dollars in the EU, Ukraine, and the UK.

Dmitry Punin owns the PUNIN GROUP and positions himself as a proponent of innovative ideas, which are fully demonstrated in illegal activities such as sanction evasion and money laundering. And not only through casinos: Punin owns the Karmiotissa football club in Cyprus, which he acquired in 2022. He also owns Punin Wine, one of the largest alcohol distributors. In July, Dmitry Punin’s French restaurant in Limassol was named one of the world’s top restaurants.

Along with Punin, the Pin-UP casino is owned through foreign companies by the businessman’s wife, Marina Ilyina, Alexander Matyashov, and Ivan Bannikov. They also own the Cyprus offshore company GURUFLOW TEAM LTD, the casino’s parent company.

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

A serious battle has erupted over this company, involving Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Federation, known for his criminal past and ties to former head of the Federal Protective Service (FSO), Yevgeny Murov. Kremlev previously headed the Russian Boxing Federation and is considered a close associate of the head of its supervisory board, Alexey Rubezhny, head of the presidential security service. In 2017, Igor Sechin, head of Rosneft and a member of Vladimir Putin’s inner circle, joined the FBI board alongside him.

In 2022, Pin-up.ru LLC, covering its tracks, changed its name to Fonkor LLC. Its founder, Alexander Udodov, was replaced by Clear Center JSC, owned by Maxim Kuznetsov, who is backed by Alexander Karmanov, a close associate of pro-Kremlin oligarchs Arkady Rotenberg and Gennady Timchenko. In 2023, Fonkor LLC generated revenue of 436 billion rubles and a profit of 59 billion rubles. Funds from the company may be siphoned offshore through Dmitry Punin’s casino. It’s unlikely Mikhail Mishustin would give up the golden goose.

Dmitry Punin also has a business in Russia – GK-Trio LLC, which operates in the field of wired communications. Founded in 2009, the company has one employee and operates without revenue or profit. Punin’s innovative ideas haven’t earned him any money in his home country, but they’re proving successful in Cyprus.

Punin and his casino partner, Alexander Matyashev, may be laundering money for companies affiliated with Mikhail Mishustin and Alexander Udodov. Matyashev’s construction projects are ideal for this purpose. In Russia, he owns three companies operating in the real estate market and is the director of PMS Eastern Europe LLC, founded by Luxembourg and American companies, which could be used to launder money and evade sanctions in Europe and the United States.

PMS Eastern Europe LLC has one employee on staff, and the company has had no revenue or profit since 2017, so it’s clear what purpose this structure serves for Matyashov. It is a co-founder of another of the businessman’s companies, Almax Homes LLC, which in 2023 generated revenue of 122 million rubles and a profit of 23 million rubles.

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

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

Dmitry Punin managed to get into trouble not only with illegal casinos but also with his football club, Karmiotissa. Former Dynamo Kyiv head coach Oleksandr Khatskevich lasted only two months at Punin’s club. He resigned after being threatened with a gun for refusing to participate in a match-fixing scheme. Dmitry Punin’s "innovative" ideas are also helping him make money in football.

Renowned Russian footballer Alexander Kerzhakov resigned as head coach of Karmiotissa after six matches. The reason was the sporting director’s order to substitute a player during a match without the coach’s approval. The club itself was accused of fraud, so Dmitry Punin announced last summer that he had sold Karmiotissa. However, informed sources say the deal was fictitious.

Dmitry Punin doesn’t fear the Russian authorities because he works closely with them. And only foreign justice can put the businessman under arrest. After his arrest, Dmitry Punin received only a travel ban. Clearly not enough for laundering hundreds of millions of dollars.