Prosecution: PIN-UP owner discussed assaulting journalist Yevhen Plinskyi

The beneficiary of the online casino PIN-UP in Ukraine, Ihor Zotko, whom the State Bureau of Investigation declared suspect for aiding the aggressor on January 9, discussed assaulting journalist Yevhen Plinskyi with Russian citizens.

The prosecutor reported this during a hearing in the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv on January 31, 2025. Yevhen Plinsky posted a video of the prosecutor's speech on Facebook.

According to the prosecutor, Zotko used his now confiscated mobile phone to communicate with Russian citizen Dmitry Punin and his wife, CEO of Pin-UP Global, Marina Ilyina.

In their correspondence, Ilyina sets out the task: "We need to arrange an attack on Plinskyi." Zotko supports the idea and says he has the “resource” for it available, while Dmytro Punin agrees to pay for it and offers to pass the task down to people in Odesa.

As Plinskyi notes, the prosecutor made this fragment of correspondence public as evidence to one of the “risks” of releasing Zotko from the pre-trial detention center, which may mean that “the order is in the works.”

“At this stage, my lawyers and I are developing a strategy for further legal action. However, I think that European and Cypriot financial institutions will be very interested to learn that a powerful 'investor' from Russia, Dmitry Punin, and his wife Marina Ilyina are commissioning assault attempts targeting journalists. Punin’s business partners will also 'like' this story,” the journalist noted.

The Institute of Mass Information has reached out to Yevhen Plinskyi for comment.

Previously

As IMI reported, on January 9, 2025, the police detained and notified of suspicion the nominal owner of a well-known online casino, Ihor Zotko. According to the investigators, the suspect contributed UAH 30 million to the authorized capital of a legal entity operating in online gambling, with no legal confirmation of the source of the money. He was declared suspect for aiding the aggressor state (Part 1, Article 111-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). It was established that the beneficial owners of the online casino, citizens of the Russian Federation, arranged the illegal operation of the online casino on Ukrainian territory.

The company itself stated that they did not, nor ever had had any ties with Russian capital or sanctioned persons, and claimed to be “completely uninvolved in any illegal financial transactions.” They also denied the charges brought by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine against the company's owner, Ihor Zotko.

The company stressed that since receiving the license, they have always acted in compliance with the current laws of Ukraine, adhering to all standards of transparency and legality. PIN-UP Ukraine emphasized that all rights and obligations as an organizer of gambling in Ukraine under the PIN-UP brand belong exclusively to Ukr Game Technology LLC. The ultimate beneficial owner of the company is Ihor Zotko, who is the only manager of the company.