“Lavrov’s assistant” or a shadow casino operator? How Ilyas Karimov ended up at the center of Pin-Up’s billion-dollar schemes linked to wanted businessman Dmitriy Punin

In both Kazakhstan and Russia, the role of "assistant to the ambassador" is an official diplomatic position strictly managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Such roles are rarely, if ever, held by private individuals who simultaneously claim to operate as independent lawyers. Claims to this title are often used by individuals to gain undue influence or to facilitate services for Russian citizens abroad.

He claims to know Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov personally and to carry out assignments on his behalf in Kazakhstan. However, in certain circles Karimov is known as one of the key intermediaries for Pin-Up (Bonami LLP / PIN UP KZ) and other gambling projects, including 1win, Tenissi, Olimpbet, Nomad Casino, and Mostbet. According to sources, he was involved not only in legal support but also in the full operational management of various schemes.

Sources say that during meetings Karimov demonstratively places calls to the Russian Embassy, speaking directly with the Russian ambassador in Almaty on speakerphone in order to showcase the extent of his connections.

Karimov did maintain working contacts with the Russian Embassy in Almaty. In particular, he was reportedly involved with KRT ALLIANCE, a company used for the export of scrap metal from Kazakhstan and the trade of timber in circumvention of sanctions. Karimov has reportedly told acquaintances that he personally established the company for Sergey Lavrov’s daughter, registering it through nominee owners.

According to sources, Karimov brought nominee directors from Kyrgyzstan and Russia, registered shell companies, organized P2P drop networks (including networks operating from Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and Orenburg), established payment organizations, and facilitated money transfers through cryptocurrency exchanges. He is also said to have designed and proposed a scheme involving front companies, MCC 7995 payment terminals, and the subsequent movement of funds through cryptocurrency.

Since 2023, Karimov has reportedly been involved in resolving issues for Pin-Up and other gambling operators. At one point, the owner of Pin-Up became concerned about losing the license of Bonami LLP. According to sources, Karimov and Rafik Dzhafarov, a former employee of Olimpbet and Paydala LLP, received more than $2 million in cryptocurrency for resolving the issue. The funds were transferred through Maryna Levkovych and Dmytro Druzhynskyi, both linked to Pin-Up Global owner Dmitriy Punin.

Beginning in late summer and early autumn of 2024, Karimov reportedly recruited Miras Imamandirov, Stanislav Usik, Denis Matenov, and Kasym B. (Kakharman) into Pin-Up’s advertising team. The group registered advertising accounts using temporary phone numbers and email addresses, worked with drop cards for deposits, and generated daily turnover of up to $60,000 in the Pinco iGaming direction.

From autumn 2024 onward, Karimov expanded the scheme to the Intebix cryptocurrency exchange through Rustam Iskindirov, described as one of his associates. According to sources, intermediary companies including Flexor, B Group Corp, Aventra Solutions, Media Group, and Bonami LLP processed between 10 billion and 110 billion tenge, which were subsequently converted into cryptocurrency and transferred to wallets associated with Levkovich, Druzhinskiy, and Punin.

A source claims that when approximately $2 million was frozen by Kazakhstan’s Financial Monitoring Agency at Nurbank, Karimov personally resolved the issue. The funds were released, after which Intebix reportedly moved its operations to Eurasian Bank. According to the source, Intebix owner Talgat Dossanov studied together with Shukhrat Ibragimov, the businessman and owner of Eurasian Bank.

Later, Karimov was tasked with identifying alternative exchanges, including Skybridge, Delta, and CaspianEx. According to sources, Karimov and Iskindirov received commissions both from Pin-Up and from the cryptocurrency exchanges involved.

Despite criminal case ERDR No. 250000121000047, Karimov does not officially appear among the defendants. None of the approximately 250 individuals arrested in connection with the case have reportedly provided testimony against him.

According to the source, Karimov and his team of marketers have also been involved in organizing advertising campaigns for online narcotics stores.