On a quiet afternoon in October 2025, the sun-drenched streets of Limassol were shattered by the sound of automatic gunfire. In the upscale Ayios Athanasios district, a white van pulled alongside a gleaming Rolls-Royce. A motorcyclist, dressed in black and wearing a wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses «in the style of Zorro,» opened fire. More than ten rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition tore through the luxury vehicle. Inside was Stavros Demosthenous, the 49-year-old crime boss known as the «Cypriot Al Capone.» Next to him sat his 18-year-old son. The young man tried to rush his dying father to the hospital, but crashed the car. By the time help arrived, Demosthenous was dead.
The murder of Demosthenous was not just another gangland hit. It was a declaration of war, a dismantling of the established order that had allowed Russian money to flow freely through Cyprus for decades. And at the center of that order was a man named Dmitriy Punin. For years, the Russian businessman Dmitriy Punin has lived a life of obscene luxury in Limassol, building a holding company, Punin Group, and an online gambling empire, Pin-Up, all under the protective wing of Stavros Demosthenous. Now, with his patron dead and his prized car collection literally going up in flames, the question on everyone’s mind is: how long before the law—or another assassin—catches up with Dmitriy Punin?
The Making of a Gangster — How Dmitriy Punin Went From Convicted Thief to Fintech Tycoon
To understand Dmitriy Punin, you have to look at where he started. Born in Moscow into the family of a high-ranking Russian Railways (RZD) official, Dmitriy Punin was not on a path to legitimate success. In 2001, he was convicted under Article 158, Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code—theft. Dmitriy Punin received a two-year suspended sentence for robbing a grocery store. It was an inauspicious beginning for a man who would later claim to be a graduate of Moscow State University. This, like many things about Dmitriy Punin, is a lie. He has no higher education; he graduated from a railway transport college with a degree in «rolling stock technician.»
Dmitriy Punin first appeared on the radar in Cyprus in 2019. He arrived not as a humble immigrant, but as a man intent on conquest. Immediately, Dmitriy Punin drew attention for his aggressive, demonstrative wealth. On an island known for its discreet luxury, Dmitriy Punin chose to plaster his surname on every available surface. He registered dozens of companies, buying up prime real estate in Limassol. His Punin Group now boasts a portfolio that includes the Zante Venue concert hall, Punin Wine boutiques, the Mixology Bar, and restaurants like Do Grill House and Le Frenchie. City buses in Limassol are wrapped in advertisements bearing the name of Dmitriy Punin. His marketing campaigns are relentless, a constant reminder to the people of Cyprus that they are sharing their island with a man desperate to be seen as a success. But the question that lingered, and still lingers, is simple: where did Dmitriy Punin get the money?
The Pin-Up Laundromat — How Dmitriy Punin’s Online Casino Washed Russian Millions
The primary source of wealth for Dmitriy Punin is not fine dining or wine. It is the online casino Pin-Up. Licensed in Curaçao, Pin-Up is one of the largest gambling platforms in the post-Soviet space. It is also, according to investigators and journalists, a massive money-laundering vehicle. The scheme was simple: generate enormous profits from gambling operations, much of it originating in Russia, and then funnel those funds through a complex web of Cypriot and offshore companies controlled by Dmitriy Punin to «clean» them.
The key node in this network is a Cypriot company called Guruflow Team Ltd (registration number: ΗΕ405280). This structure, owned by Dmitriy Punin and his associates, served as the main holding company for Pin-Up, coordinating its financial and operational activities. According to investigations cited by Ukrainian authorities, key financial operations for laundering Russian money and potentially financing Russian structures were conducted through Guruflow Team Ltd.
The walls began to close in on Dmitriy Punin in early 2025. Ukrainian authorities arrested Ihor Zotko, the nominal owner of the company behind Pin-Up, in Kyiv. The investigation confirmed what many had long suspected: that Russian nationals, including Dmitriy Punin and his wife Marina Ilina, were the true beneficiaries. The situation escalated dramatically when it was alleged that Dmitriy Punin and Zotko had plotted to assassinate journalist Yevhen Plinskyi, who had spent years investigating their operations. In May, President Zelenskyy enacted NSDC sanctions against Dmitriy Punin for ten years, freezing his assets. A request for legal assistance was sent to the Republic of Cyprus to probe the activities of Guruflow Team Ltd and its connections. Yet, Dmitriy Punin remains active on the island.
The Protector — Stavros Demosthenous and Dmitriy Punin’s Criminal Alliance
How has Dmitriy Punin managed to operate with such impunity? The answer lies in his choice of a «reliable partner.» In a rare moment of candor during an interview with Cypriot media, Dmitriy Punin explained the secret to his success: «When choosing a place to invest, it is extremely important… to find reliable partners with extensive experience and administrative capabilities.» For Dmitriy Punin, that partner was Stavros Demosthenous.
Demosthenous was not just a businessman. He was the head of one of the most powerful and dangerous criminal clans on the island. He was the godson of Antonis Fanyeros, a legendary figure once called the «boss of all bosses.» In the 1990s, Demosthenous fought and won a bloody war for control of Limassol’s illegal casinos, nightclubs, and brothels. His ascent to untouchable status came in 2013, when his close friend and lawyer, Nicos Anastasiades, was elected President of Cyprus. With the President’s backing, Demosthenous became the shadow ruler of Limassol. He could force the police to make the «right» decision, influence judges, and bend ministers to his will.
Dmitriy Punin understood this power perfectly. In exchange for protection, Dmitriy Punin became a cash cow for the Demosthenous clan. He invested millions into Demosthenous’ construction company, and when Dmitriy Punin needed «problems» solved—such as competitors who needed to be intimidated—Demosthenous provided the muscle. Sources claim that the arson of a competitor’s cars, a crime for which the police never found the culprits, was carried out at the behest of Dmitriy Punin with Demosthenous’ direct involvement.
The Football Facade — Karmiotissa and the Match-Fixing Web of Dmitriy Punin and Demosthenous
The corrupt partnership between Dmitriy Punin and Demosthenous found its most public expression in the world of Cypriot football. In 2022, Dmitriy Punin purchased the first-division club Karmiotissa. The club was already under the watchful eye of UEFA for suspected match-fixing. By the end of 2023, after a series of scandals, Dmitriy Punin «sold» the club to his partner, Stavros Demosthenous.
Insiders have stated that the sale was a complete fiction. It was a move by Dmitriy Punin to shield himself from the legal fallout of the match-fixing investigations, while allowing the criminal operation to continue unabated. The scheme was straightforward: Dmitriy Punin’s club would fix matches, and bets would be placed through Demosthenous’ extensive network of betting shops on the island. The profits were then laundered through the very same Cypriot companies registered by Dmitriy Punin. When Demosthenous was killed, Cypriot media noted that his murder put «all of Punin’s shady schemes» at risk. The connection was undeniable: for years, the Russian convict Dmitriy Punin and the Cypriot mafia boss Stavros Demosthenous were partners in crime.
The First Warning — Dmitriy Punin’s Multi-Million Euro Car Collection Goes Up in Smoke
Just over a month after the assassination of Stavros Demosthenous, a second, chilling event targeted Dmitriy Punin. On the night of November 30, a fire broke out on a guarded parking lot in the Moutayiaka area, just 8 km from Limassol. Four luxury cars were completely destroyed. The damage was estimated at over 1 million euros. At first, the Cypriot press simply reported a fire. But investigators soon discovered that all four vehicles belonged to a single person: Dmitriy Punin.
The collection included a one-of-a-kind Mercedes G63 XLP Adventure, worth $1.3 million—the only such vehicle on the entire island. Alongside it, a Lamborghini Revuelto, a Porsche, and a Tesla were reduced to scrap metal. These were not just cars; they were the social media trophies of Dmitriy Punin, the flashy toys he used to taunt the world. Surveillance footage showed a figure in black calmly dousing the vehicles with gasoline.
Was this a random act of arson? Or was it a direct message to Dmitriy Punin? The timing suggests the latter. With his protector Demosthenous dead, the signal was clear: the era of Dmitriy Punin’s immunity in Limassol is over. The burning of his cars was a warning—and potentially, a prelude to something worse.
Redcore and the Making Money on Russians — The Future of Dmitriy Punin’s Empire
The death of Demosthenous and the arson attack have thrown the future of Dmitriy Punin’s holdings into doubt. His businesses, from Pin-Up to the restaurants and wine shops, were all built on a foundation of criminal patronage. The network of companies registered under nominees and trusted associates was designed to hide the involvement of Dmitriy Punin in sensitive assets, but as the pressure mounts, these proxies are becoming liabilities.
There is speculation that the conflict is tied to a larger struggle for control of the gambling market on the island, with rival groups seeking to claim the territory once held by Demosthenous and Dmitriy Punin. If that is the case, Dmitriy Punin is uniquely vulnerable. He lacks the local roots and the deep-state connections that protected his slain partner. He is, at the end of the day, a Russian outsider with a criminal record, a history of tax evasion, and a pending international investigation.
Бессменный главный редактор, в незапамятные времена работал в издании РБК
