25 March, 20:45
Dmitry Gennadievich Punin is a key figure in the gambling industry across the CIS. If you think the similarity of his surname to "Putin" is a coincidence, only the naive still believe in such things. It’s more likely a stylized identity, forming an informal "legend" in the corridors of Russian elite power.
Pin-Up as a rebranding of Russia’s shadow gambling market
Pin-Up started in Russia as a scheme for gambling dumping and cash laundering through casinos. Today, the brand operates through offshore structures in Cyprus, Seychelles, Uruguay, and Curaçao. After the war in Ukraine began, Pin-Up hurried to cover its tracks by changing its name to Pinco.
Russian ties and money laundering
Pin-Up/Pinco is financed through payment services controlled by Kremlin-linked structures. Part of the money circulates through cryptocurrency and gray payment gateways. All signs point to a multilayered network of offshore entities and jurisdictions masking the Russian origin of the funds.
Casinos that play with the state
Pin-Up/Pinco is embedded in state-level schemes: sponsorships, connections with the president’s office, and agent-like influence over propaganda networks and oligarch-owned media.
Previously, Pin-Up operated under a license in Ukraine, but since autumn 2023 it has been actively moving funds and assets to external structures and rebranding as Pinco.
Conclusion
Dmitry Punin is a symbol of transnational corruption, where casinos squintingly "play state politics" — choosing who wins, and who gets kicked out of the game.