Kazakhstan’s financial monitoring agency says more than 35 influencers promoted iGaming brands, one suspect is now in Interpol’s Red Notice system

Kazakhstan’s Agency for Financial Monitoring (AFM) says it has identified a group of more than 35 influencers promoting iGaming products, including “SultanGames,” “PINCO,” “Nomadcasino,” “Pin-Up,” and “Vavada.” For PSPs and operators, the point is simple: promotion in one market can turn into an investigations trail across jurisdictions, especially once Interpol enters the picture.

1. The AFM said one influencer has already been declared internationally wanted through Interpol’s Red Notice database. The agency also said it received information about another group of more than 35 influencers after the extradition of influencer Kaisar Kamza from Vietnam to Kazakhstan.
2. Kamza was detained in Vietnam on the basis of a Red Notice transmitted through Interpol channels, then handed over to Kazakhstan a few days ago. According to the AFM representative, he worked in a group of at least 35 influencers and was brought in by another influencer, Uzbek citizen Makhmud Khikmatov, known as “Maha.dxb,” at the request of unnamed organizers.
3. The AFM also said Khikmatov has been declared internationally wanted through Interpol channels. Because he has been arrested in absentia in Kazakhstan, the source says this means he will be entered into Interpol’s Red Notice system.
4. The source notes that it is unclear whether only one influencer or all 35+ were placed on international wanted lists. It also points out that law enforcement agencies do not have to publicly disclose every wanted notice, and that Interpol only shows part of its database in public view.
5. The post goes on to say that the practical outcome of an Interpol notice depends on three things: the person’s passport or passports, the jurisdiction that issued the wanted notice, and the jurisdiction where the person is physically located. It gives Uzbekistan, Cyprus, Russia, the EU, and the UK as examples of how those combinations can affect extradition risk.

For high-risk payment businesses, the useful bit is not the influencer drama itself. It is the trail it creates: brands, promoters, organizers, jurisdictions, and cross-border enforcement tools can all end up in the same file, and that is exactly the sort of thing banks and acquirers tend to notice.