Tracing Punin from Cyprus to Kamzu in Vietnam: the global pursuit is tightening around Pin-Up

06 вересня 2026 р., 21:15

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Tracing Punin from Cyprus to Kamzu in Vietnam: the global pursuit is tightening around Pin-Up

Kazakh blogger Kaysar Kamzu, who has reportedly been involved in promoting the Pin-Up online casino, could face extradition from Vietnam to Kazakhstan.

Photos from Cam Ranh Airport were published by followers of journalist Mikhail Kozachkov. The images show Kamzu being escorted by a man who appears to be an officer of Kazakhstan’s Agency for Financial Monitoring.

Kamzu was placed on an international wanted list in January 2026. According to Kazakh journalists, the blogger, who has more than 2 million Instagram followers, promoted an online casino banned in Kazakhstan through a private Telegram channel with an audience of more than 400,000 people.

According to investigators, the scheme operated under the cover of the licensed Pin-Up bookmaker. Customers were redirected to websites offering roulette and other prohibited forms of gambling. Kamzu reportedly received substantial fees for promoting the scheme. His crypto assets worth almost $200,000 were also seized.

In April 2026, Vietnamese law enforcement detained the blogger in Cam Ranh at the request of Kazakhstan’s Prosecutor General’s Office. Kamzu later claimed that he had not been arrested and that immigration authorities had merely confiscated his passport. The latest photos from the airport may indicate that preparations are underway for his return to Kazakhstan.

The trail leads to Punin

The Kazakh investigation involves more than just the blogger. As part of the same case, U.S. citizen Dmitriy Druzhinskiy and Ukrainian citizen Marina Levkovich were also placed on an international wanted list. According to investigators, they coordinated a network of online casinos operating under the Pin-Up and PINCO brands.

According to journalist Mikhail Kozachkov, the ultimate beneficiaries of the business are Russian citizen Dmitriy Punin and Ukrainian citizen Marina Ilyina. The couple lives in Cyprus.

Punin is the owner of Pin-Up and has been declared wanted in Ukraine. While people linked to his gambling empire are being wanted and detained in different countries, Punin himself remains in Cyprus and is actively trying to whitewash his reputation, now promoting himself as a winemaker through the CHATEAU PUNIN project.

The Kamzu case shows that Punin’s gambling business continues to attract the attention of law enforcement far beyond Ukraine.

Kseniia Cherkasova

Reporter

Covers high-profile events and social issues. Specializes in working with sources and verifying information under wartime conditions.