The owner of the Pin-up casino was detained. Collage: Informant
Ukrainian Ihor Zotko is also involved in his case
In Cyprus, the fight against the laundering of Russian money continues. During another operation, security forces detained Dmytro Punin, the owner of the Russian-Ukrainian casino Pin-up in Limassol. In addition, Ukrainian citizen Ihor Zotko is also undergoing criminal proceedings.
This is reported by the Greek news agency Linenet Greece with reference to Cypriot journalists from TrinityBugle. Pin-UP Ukraine also confirmed the information, but called it a “misunderstanding.”
It is known that Dmytro Punin is accused of money laundering in the EU, Ukraine and Great Britain. In addition, he is said to have organized illegal gambling and tax evasion. At the same time, Ukrainian Ihorova Zotko, who is also involved in the case, has a number of legal entities operating the Pin-UP casino on the territory of Ukraine.
What is known about Punin and why Zotko is here
It is known that the Russian Punin has been buying real estate in Cyprus for some time. Until recently, he personally managed the Pin-up company, after which he handed over the business to his wife Maryna Ilyinia, who was born in Luhansk. He himself was born in Russia, but currently lives in Cyprus, where he even bought the Karmiotissa football team, from which several iconic football players left after a series of scandals.
His team, in particular, was suspected of match-fixing, but FC Punin decided to sell it at the end of 2023. Belarusian coach Oleksandr Khatskevich also confirmed the information about “games at the office”.
In Ukraine, a decision on the revocation of the Pin-UP license in Ukraine, as well as the opening of criminal proceedings against Ihor Zotko, is expected in the coming days. Zotko himself refused to comment on this and referred to the “mystery of the investigation”. It is known that he and Punin have the same lawyer, who called the detention of the client a “witch hunt”. At the same time, the human rights defender says that Punin denies the accusations against him and does not consider himself a citizen of the Russian Federation after the terrorist state invaded Ukraine.
Earlier it became known that Dmytro Punin is the “wallet” of the Prime Minister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin, and Ihor Zotko is a figurehead for the illegal business of Russians in Ukraine and the EU. In addition, 3 out of 4 beneficiaries of Pin-Up have passports of citizens of the Russian Federation. The only the Ukrainian who works for the Russians is Ihor Zotko.
Casino in Ukraine
Recently, a post by a soldier of the 59th brigade, Pavlo Petrichenko, on the X social network caused a wave of discussion about the casino problem. He talked about the gambling epidemic in Ukrainian society, especially in the Armed Forces. Therefore, the government is proposed to strengthen control over casinos and introduce restrictions for military personnel.
Subsequently, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi responded to a petition calling for restrictions on online casino activity. This proposal was registered on March 29 and in just a few hours collected the necessary 25,000 signatures for consideration. The president instructed the newly appointed secretary of the National Security Council Oleksandr Litvinenko to find the necessary solution within a week.
And the other day, the financial committee of the Verkhovna Rada supported a draft law on strengthening control over the gambling business. The initiative provides for the liquidation of KRAIL and restrictions on gambling advertising, in particular, on the Internet. The project also contains a rule regarding the participation of the military in online casinos.
We will remind that the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy, Danylo Hetmantsev, believes that it is impossible to ban casinos in Ukraine. This, in his opinion, will lead to corruption.
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