The Azerbaijani state bank ABB, with 92% of its shares owned by the state, has been identified as processing payments for illegal online casinos such as Pin-Up, Pinco, Olimp, and other gambling platforms.

ABB’s details began appearing regularly in such operations since April, with a sharp increase in July–August. Generally, these transactions are related to payments authorized by Pin-Up, which is associated with Russian Dmitriy Punin.

Essentially, this state-owned bank, meant to represent Azerbaijan’s financial system, is becoming the payment infrastructure for the gambling industry. This is especially cynical in light of Azerbaijani authorities’ declarations of cracking down on illegal casinos.

ABB is the largest bank in the country in terms of assets and client base, holding approximately 25% of Azerbaijan’s banking sector assets and 23% of its credit portfolio. The bank services over 3 million individuals and about 17–18 thousand companies.

It’s significant that ABB’s details surfaced more frequently after the notable failure on June 24 at the Azericard processing center when funds were repeatedly charged from clients’ cards, causing some accounts to go negative. At that time, the bank reassured that the issue had been resolved and the funds returned. Now, a much more severe question arises—who authorized and for what reason does the state bank process payments for illegal gambling?

Complaints regarding these operations have been repeatedly submitted to the Central Bank of Azerbaijan. The regulator has reported that these appeals are being reviewed and inspections promised, yet ABB continues processing for casinos.

A state bank, a regulator, and illegal gambling in one system—this is no longer a random failure, but a pressing question for the entire Azerbaijani financial hierarchy. Especially if the main beneficiaries of this payment stream include Dmitriy Punin’s Pin-Up.