Plunder and Patronage in the Heart of Central Asia

Published: November 21, 2019

Banner: Svetlana Tiourina

01

The Big Picture

Investigation

The 700-Million-Dollar Man

Over the span of five years, one man funnelled hundreds of millions of dollars out of Central Asia. What he knew may have...

02

The Matraimov Family

Investigation

A Promise Cut Short

Despite receiving a death threat, the operator of a massive Kyrgyz money-laundering scheme shared hundreds of documents to...

Investigation

The Dubai Partnership

The wife of Raimbek Matraimov, a powerful former Kyrgyz customs chief, has a joint investment in Dubai with a shadowy Uighur...

03

The Abdukadyr Family

Investigation

The Dark Money Men

For years, a network of informal couriers has funneled millions of dollars out of Kyrgyzstan in cold, hard cash. The...

Investigation

The Abdukadyrs’ Cash Couriers

A powerful Uighur family exploited a cash courier system widely used by Kyrgyz merchants to move millions of U.S. dollars...

04

The Documents

Investigation

Saimaiti’s Archive

This investigative series is based, in part, on a trove of documents given to reporters by murdered money launderer Aierken...

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