The Beautiful Life Of A Kyrgyz Customs Official
By RFE/RL’s Kyrgyz Service, OCCRP, Kloop, and Bellingcat
December 14, 2020
Raimbek Matraimov is a powerful Kyrgyz political operator known for his massive wealth. This investigation into his wife’s social-media accounts reveals the opulent lifestyle his family enjoyed even as he declared only a modest salary in the country’s customs service.
“You can’t forbid living beautifully! ,” wrote Amanda Turgunova.
Those weren’t empty words for the Kyrgyz jet-setter. An accompanying photo collage, posted on a Russian social-media site in April 2015, shows an elegantly dressed Turgunova in what looks like an expensive restaurant and a fancy hotel lobby.