21 August 2025, 22:06
How a Russian adventurer with a criminal past conquered an island with the help of local mafia
Prologue: Arrest in Kyiv
The beginning of 2025 brought sensational news from the Ukrainian capital: Igor Zotko, the nominal owner of the company behind the PIN-UP online casino, was arrested in Kyiv. However, the true puppet masters of this gambling business were far from the arrest site—on sunny Cyprus, where Russian adventurer Dmitry Punin had built a real shadow empire.
The story that unfolded after this arrest reads like a criminal saga about how a man with a conviction for grocery theft transformed into the shadow ruler of a Mediterranean island, relying on an alliance with local criminal authorities.
Chapter I: Rise of a Repeat Offender
"When choosing a place to invest, it's crucial to conduct thorough research and find reliable partners with extensive experience and administrative capabilities"—this phrase by Dmitry Punin in an interview with Cypriot media became the key to understanding his phenomenal success.
Born into a railway worker's family in Moscow, Punin began his adult life by robbing a grocery store. In 2001, a court sentenced him to two years' probation for theft. He has no higher education—only a diploma as a rolling stock technician from a Moscow railway college, though he falsely presents himself as an MSU graduate.
In 2019, this man with a criminal past landed in Cyprus and immediately attracted attention with his ostentatious luxury. The island became his personal stage for a grandiose show of self-aggrandizement.
Chapter II: Empire of Narcissism
Imagine a city where one person's surname adorns every corner. Welcome to Limassol in the Punin era.
His business empire resembles a giant monument to his own ego:
- ZANTE VENUE concert venue
- PUNIN WINE wine boutiques
- Do Grill House and Le Frenchie restaurants
- MIXOLOGY BAR gastro-bar
- Prive Aesthetic by Punin beauty center
- The Shawarma by Punin fast-food chain
His company logos flash everywhere, city buses are plastered with advertisements bearing his surname. Marketing campaigns don't let island residents forget for a minute about their fortune of living in the same territory as Punin.
An egocentric and narcissist by nature, he sincerely believes he has changed Cyprus for the better. But behind this ostentatious magnificence lies a machine for laundering money from Russian gambling business.
Chapter III: In Search of "Protection"
Upon arriving in Cyprus, Punin wasn't just looking for a business partner, but an influential patron—someone who could resolve issues with authorities, banks, and competitors. Someone with the ability to "expedite project approval at any level" and "provide forceful support in eliminating competitors."
Such a patron became Stavros Demosfenos—the head of one of the island's most powerful criminal clans.
Chapter IV: Godchild of the "Boss of All Bosses"
The story of Stavros Demosfenos is the story of modern Cypriot mafia. Godchild of legendary authority Antonis Fanyeros, who was a close associate of Cyprus's first president and held the title "boss of all bosses."
In the bloody 90s, Limassol became a battlefield for control over nightclubs, underground casinos, and brothels. Demosfenos, possessing an "unbridled and extremely aggressive character," emerged victorious from this criminal war.
Owning the popular Sesto Senso nightclub, he met lawyer Phanos Philippou from the firm of future Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades. Thus began a friendship that changed the island's history.
Chapter V: The President and His "Combat Unit"
When Anastasiades became Cyprus President in 2013, unprecedented prospects opened before his criminal friend. Demosfenos's clan transformed into an unofficial enforcement structure for presidential power.
Anastasiades gave him control of Limassol port. Demosfenos began importing expensive cars from England—allegedly stolen—and soon became the owner of the island's largest luxury car dealership.
But most importantly, he became a "problem solver" for wealthy Russian emigrants. Need to expedite residence permit? Go to Stavros. Bank account problems? Go to Stavros. Business license? Again to Stavros. And for especially important clients seeking Cypriot citizenship, he arranged meetings with presidential lawyer Phanos.
Chapter VI: Shadow Ruler of the Island
Today Demosfenos is a man who can force police to make the right decision with one phone call, influence a judge, or compel a minister to adopt necessary regulations. His extensive network of influence penetrates all levels of power.
Want to send someone for state-funded treatment abroad, though the ministry refused? Demosfenos will solve it with one call to the health minister. Need to "explain" the correct decision to a judge? His people will visit the judge's relatives.
His power was particularly evident in the "oligarchs' war" over Cypriot assets, when several Russian millionaires lost their companies through hostile takeovers. Demosfenos's influence proved stronger than Cyprus laws, and he earned tens of millions of euros for his "services."
Chapter VII: Perfect Alliance
The Punin-Demosfenos alliance became a model symbiosis of Russian money and Cypriot corruption. After their acquaintance, mysterious car arsons of Punin's competitors began—police, of course, found no culprits. Journalists criticizing the Russian "businessman" faced harsh pressure; some publications removed exposing articles.
Today Cypriot media write about Punin exclusively in fawning tones, while he feels untouchable. He regularly violates traffic rules—police don't notice. He behaves impudently—no one dares object.
Epilogue: Sanctions as Verdict
On May 25, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky imposed ten-year sanctions against Punin, freezing his assets. The investigation claims that money laundering of Russian funds and financing of Russian structures was conducted through Cypriot company GURUFLOW TEAM LTD.
The story of PIN-UP and its creators is not just a criminal chronicle. It's a tale of how in the modern world, money, corruption, and political connections can transform a man convicted of grocery theft into the shadow ruler of an entire island. And how a small state can become a laundromat for dirty money if its elites are willing to sell national interests for personal gain.
Punin sought "protection"—and found an entire roof in the form of a state. The question is only how long this structure can withstand the pressure of international sanctions and growing attention from law enforcement agencies of various countries.