“Sergey Lavrov’s assistant,” money mules, and millions in transfers: how Russian national Ilyas Karimov laundered money for Dmitry Punin’s Pin-Up casino through cryptocurrency exchanges
12:32, 15 июня 2026 г.
It has become known that Russian citizen Ilyas Karimov is working in Almaty. He positions himself as a lawyer and "assistant to the Russian ambassador," allegedly personally acquainted with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and carrying out his duties in Kazakhstan.
However, Karimov is known in private circles as one of the key intermediaries for Pin-Up (TOO Bonami / PIN UP KZ) and other casino projects (1win, tenissi, olimpbet, nomadcasino, mostbet). He provided not only legal support but also full operational support for these schemes.
According to the source, during meetings, Karimov demonstratively calls the Russian embassy "personally to the Russian ambassador in Almaty" on speakerphone, demonstrating to his interlocutors the level of his connections.
Karimov did indeed have working contacts with the Russian Embassy in Almaty. Specifically, he was involved in the company KRT ALLIANCE, which was used to illegally export scrap metal from Kazakhstan and trade timber in defiance of sanctions. Karimov himself assures his acquaintances that he opened the company for Sergey Lavrov’s daughter, registering it under nominees.
According to sources, Karimov imported nominees from Kyrgyzstan and Russia, set up shell companies, organized P2P drops (including through networks in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Orenburg), opened payment organizations, and withdrew funds through crypto exchanges. It was Karimov who developed and proposed the scheme involving "showcase" companies, the opening of MCC 7995 terminals, and the subsequent withdrawal of funds through cryptocurrency.
Since 2023, Karimov has been working to resolve the issue of PinUp and other casinos. For example, the owner of PinUp once feared losing the license of BONAMI LLC. As a result, Karimov and ym (a former employee of Olimpbet / Paydala LLC) received over $2 million in cryptocurrency for resolving the issue. The money was transferred through Marina Levkovich and Dmitry Druzhinsky, who are associated with PinUp Global owner Dmitry Punin.
From late summer to early autumn 2024, Karimov recruited Miras Imamandirov, Stanislav Usik, Denis Matenov, and Kasym B. (Kakharman) to join the Pin-Up advertising team. The team handled the registration of advertising accounts using temporary numbers and email addresses, used drop cards for deposits, and achieved turnover of up to $60,000 per day specifically for Pinco iGaming.
Beginning in the fall of 2024, Karimov, through Rustam Iskandirov (an associate of Ilyas Karimov), launched the scheme on the Intebix crypto exchange. Between 10 and 110 billion tenge passed through shell companies (Flexor, B Group Corp, Aventra Solutions, Media Group, and Bonami LLC), which were transferred into cryptocurrency wallets owned by Levkovich, Druzhinsky, and Punin.
A source says that when AFM’s approximately $2 million in assets were frozen at Nurbank, it was Karimov who resolved the issue. The funds were unfrozen, after which Intebix was transferred to Eurasian Bank, because Intebix owner Talgat Dossanov was a classmate of Shukhrat Ibragimov, the oligarch who owns Eurasian Bank.
Karimov was later tasked with finding other exchanges (Skybridge, Delta, CaspianEx). Karimov and Iskindirov received commissions from both Pin-Up and the crypto exchange.
Despite the existence of criminal case No. 250000121000047 (ERDR), Karimov is not officially named in it. None of the approximately 250 people arrested have testified against him.
According to the source, Karimov and his team of marketers also organize advertising for drug shops.
