According to the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info, Russian citizen Ilyas Karimov works 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, in narrow circles, Karimov is known as one of the key intermediaries for Pin-Up (TOO Bonami / PIN-UP.KZ) and other casino projects (1win, tenissi, olimpbet, nomadcasino, mostbet). He was involved not only in legal support but also in the full operational support of these schemes. According to the source, during meetings, Karimov ostentatiously calls the Russian Embassy "personally, the Russian Ambassador in Almaty" on speakerphone, demonstrating the level of his connections to his interlocutors.

 

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 acquaintances that he opened the company for Sergey Lavrov's daughter, registering it under nominees.

 

According to the 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 systems, 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 via cryptocurrency.

 

Since 2023, Karimov has been working on the PinUp and other casinos. For example, the owner of PinUp once feared losing the license for BONAMI LLC. As a result, Karimov, along with Rafik Dzhafarov (formerly an 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 Dmitry Punin, the owner of PinUp Global.

 

From late summer to early fall 2024, Karimov brought Miras Imamandirov, Stanislav Usik, Denis Matenov, and Kasym B. (Kakharman) into PinUp's advertising team. The team registered advertising accounts using temporary numbers and email addresses, used drop cards for deposits, and reported turnover of up to $60,000 per day specifically for Pinco iGaming.

 

Starting 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 then transferred to crypto wallets owned by Levkovich, Druzhinsky, and Punin.

 

A source says that when approximately $2 million was frozen by AFM at Nurbank, it was Karimov who resolved the issue. The funds were unfrozen, after which Intebix transferred to Eurasian Bank, because Intebix owner Talgat Dossanov is 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 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.

To be continued