- Reading time: 9 min
Corruption, nepotism and the “Wi-Fi system”: How Kyrgyzstan became a hub for smuggling cars into Russia
Kyrgyzstan has become a hotspot for the smuggling of European cars into Russia. Despite Western sanctions, these luxury vehicles are increasingly on display in the windows of Moscow dealerships. They are part of a highly lucrative industry, investigated by now-imprisoned journalists and involving friends of Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov’s nephew and a top Lithuanian athlete.
(Credit: screenshot of the Berg Auto Premium website – Forbidden Stories)
- Before they were arrested, the Kyrgyz journalists of Temirov Live were investigating the import of luxury cars into Russia via Kyrgyzstan. Friends of the Kyrgyz president's nephew are linked to a Moscow dealership, Berg Auto.
- According to Berg Auto, it is possible to place an order on the official website of the German brand Porsche and receive the vehicle in Russia, despite the sanctions.
- Cars from Europe are transported either by plane to Bishkek or by ferry to Georgia, before ultimately arriving in Russia.
- The founder of the Berg Auto showroom in Moscow is a former top-level Lithuanian horse rider, operating in Russia under the name Mark Berg.
By Eloïse Layan
February 26, 2025
With Bolot Temirov (Temirov Live), Eldiyar Arykbaev (OCCRP), Anastasia Korotkova (iStories), Dajana Kollig (Paper Trail Media), Miglė Krancevičiūtė (Siena), Šarūnas Černiauskas (Siena), Olesya Shmagun (Novaya Gazeta Europe), Leila Bektur (Forbidden Stories)
“The car, the country of manufacture, everything will be European.”
On the phone with a journalist from our international investigative consortium, the salesman at this luxury car dealership in Moscow sounds certain. The vehicle we claim to want to buy is a Porsche 911 Turbo, theoretically subject to European sanctions against Russia. Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the export of Western luxury goods to Russia—in particular cars costing more than €50,000—has been banned.
But to hear the salesman tell it, everything seems to be in order. “The car will be transported by plane from Europe to Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, and then by truck to Moscow,” he said. “Alternatively, we can send it by ferry to Georgia, then on to Russia.”
Berg Auto offers over a hundred cars, from Mercedes and Lamborghinis to a Rolls-Royce, worth over a million euros. (Credit: screenshot of Berg Auto Premium website – Forbidden Stories)
According to the salesman, we can even customize the vehicle—its color, wheels and seats— on Porsche’s official website for around €500,000.
“We have very complex logistics because of the restrictions, but anything is possible,” he said, assuring us that he had lots of connections abroad because “before, we all worked in the showrooms of official brands.”
Temirov Live: a media outlet persecuted by the Kyrgyz authorities
We posed as a Russian customer and called this particular dealership following a tip from Bolot Temirov, a Kyrgyz journalist from an independent media outlet of the same name, Temirov Live. A source had told him that some Kyrgyz people close to the government were linked to a luxury car dealership called Berg Auto, located along the Novorizhskoe highway 15 kilometers from the center of Moscow.
That was in November 2024, just a few days Makhabat Tazhibek Kyzy, Temirov’s wife and the editor-in-chief of Temirov Live, was sentenced to six years in prison. Ten months earlier, 11 active and former Temirov Live journalists had been arrested, their offices searched and their phones seized. The authorities read through their conversations on the encrypted messaging service Signal.
In the center, 33-year-old journalist Makhabat Tazhibek-kyzy and journalist and poet Azamat Ishenbekov, sentenced respectively to six and five years of imprisonment. (Credit: Private)
In the investigation file consulted by Forbidden Stories and its partners, ten Signal groups are listed. Among them, the “авто” (“auto”) group planned to investigate the connections of Eskat Nurkozhoev, a nephew of Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov, for their alleged involvement in luxury car trafficking—including exports to Russia.
October 16, 2024, President Japarov declared that “as a member of the United Nations, we do not trade in sanctioned goods,” while also pointing out that as a landlocked country in Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan could not do without trade with Russia.
Extract from the criminal file consulted by Forbidden Stories and its partners, describing the “Auto” signal loop. (Credit: Forbidden Stories)
Forbidden Stories and its partners continued Temirov Live’s investigation, in collaboration with Bolot Temirov, a refugee in Europe since 2022 and a member of Forbidden Stories’ Safebox network.
A Lithuanian rider becomes a car dealer in Moscow
Berg Auto is a newcomer in the world of luxury cars. The showroom opened its doors “on Vladimir Putin’s birthday,” October 7, 2023. “That was my decision,” said founder Mark Alexandrovitch Berg in an interview with the Russian magazine Svetskiy Petersburg. With his black polo shirt, Audemars Piguet watch, muscular arms, and good looks, he explained that the adventure began “with the imposition of sanctions” against Russia. He claimed to follow a system of “parallel imports,” or the importation of goods without the authorization of the relevant manufacturers.
Mark Berg during an interview by Svetskiy Petersburg magazine (April 2024); and in a showroom opening in October 2023. (Credit: Screenshot of Svetskiy Petersburg website – Forbidden Stories)
These goods come from prestigious brands. On the day of the Berg Auto showroom opening, for example, a black Rolls Royce Cullinan adorned the red carpet. The car, embellished with a signature winged statuette, carries an estimated price tag of €1,2 million. The rest of Berg Auto’s catalog is equally luxurious: a Porsche Cayenne Coupé, a metallic orange Lamborghini, a Tesla Cybertruck 2024, and the latest Rolls-Royce Spectrum, to name a few. In all, 100 cars “from all over the world” are available for sale and can be paid for in cash, their combined value totaling almost €16 million. “We know no borders” reads the dealership’s website.
“Their cars are very exclusive and very rare,” explained Laurynas Boguševičius, former number 1 at Tesla in Lithuania. “Some are produced in quantities of less than two hundred a year. These are very difficult cars to obtain, even for European dealerships.”
“Clearly, a significant amount of money has been invested in this business,” said a Russian automotive industry expert, who requested anonymity. “What’s more, the location is very profitable, surrounded by other luxury dealerships, with a customer base that can afford to shop there. It takes a certain amount of leverage, in the form of cash or administrative connections, to get such a location.”
According to our information, the dealership’s Russian manager, Mark Berg, is also a citizen of the European Union. Though he told Svetskiy Petersburg magazine of his seven years in motor racing, he neglected to mention that he was once a great athlete, acclaimed in another discipline and in another country. After using facial recognition software and consulting several documents, we discovered Berg’s true identity.
News reports on horseman Benas Gutkauskas in 2011 and 2019, now known as Mark Berg. (Credit: Screenshot of Vakarų ekspresas and Maxima Equisport website – Forbidden Stories)
In Lithuania—an EU member state—he is known by his birth name, Benas Gutkauskas. Dozens of articles have been written about him. In favorable coverage, he is lauded as “the best horserider in the country,” an athlete being courted by the Russians. In 2010, he reached the World Cup finals in Geneva. However, Gutkauskas has also appeared in the news, having been prosecuted three times for violence and disturbing the peace, once following an incident where he beat a man with a field hockey bat.
Mark Berg, a.k.a Benas Gutkauskas, did not respond to our calls or e-mails. The Vilnius authorities have confirmed that Benas Gutkauskas still holds Lithuanian nationality, but were unaware of his Russian citizenship. Dual citizenship is however banned in Lithuania with few exceptions.
Protect your stories
Are you a journalist under threat because of your reporting? Secure your information with Forbidden Stories.
Berg Auto is linked to members of the Kyrgyz elite
The social media accounts of berg.auto’s Kyrgyz counterpart, berg.auto.kg, put us on the trail of several people close to the Kyrgyz authorities—the same individuals mentioned by Temirov Live’s source.
Scouring the company’s Instagram account, we came across Kyrgyz boxer Samat Abdyrakhmanov (491K followers), “a car enthusiast” according to berg.auto.kg, who went to the Moscow showroom shortly after its opening to try out a Mercedes. We also spotted a “like” from Ruslan Kydyrmyshev, President Japarov’s advisor.
On berg_auto.kg, a “like” from Ruslan Kydyrmyshev, a popular figure in Kyrgyzstan and advisor to President Japarov (Credit: Screenshot of Instagram account @berg_auto.kg – Forbidden Stories)
Most notably, in the photos of Berg Auto’s Moscow opening, among the champagne glasses, balloons and red ribbons, is Adilet Tildebayev. In his thirties, he is close with Eskat Nurkozhoev, President Japarov’s nephew. They belong to the same social circle: one photo shows them in a group of nine friends, in a parking lot one night. In another picture posted on social media, Tildebayev is arm-in-arm with Adilet Nirlanbek Uulu, who once worked directly for President Japarov, and whose wedding was witnessed by none other than Nurkozhoev.
In the middle, Eskat Nurkozhoev and to his right, Adilet Tildebayev. // Adilet Tildebayev during a meal with Adilet Nirlanbek Uulu (Credit: screenshots of TikTok account @adilet0800- Forbidden Stories) // Adilet Tildebayev at Berg Auto’s inauguration.
As for Berg Auto’s suppliers, again we found someone close to President Japarov’s nephew. His name is Syrgakbek Atyshov, and on TikTok, he explained how two Range Rovers manufactured in South Korea would be delivered to Bishkek, then “to Moscow in three days” by the company Kurman.trading. They’d be received by Aziz Jyrgalbekov, one of their regular customers, who manages berg.auto.kg Instagram page.
Since coming to power in 2021, Japarov—once an opposition figure, exiled and then imprisoned for three years—has constantly presented himself as an anti-clientelism and anti-favoritism president waging “an unmerciful battle” against corruption. Against this backdrop, independent Kyrgyz media outlets have scrutinized the activities of President Japarov, his son and his nephews.
“It’s important for us because we’ve already known leaders in the past who established an exclusive, family-based system. For them, the State was just a way of enriching themselves and their relatives,” said Bolot Temirov.
In May 2024, he and the OCCRP revealed that several public contracts had been awarded to people close to President Japarov, including a friend of his son.
While friends of Japarov’s nephew Nurkozhoev appear to be involved in Berg Auto, we have not been able to establish whether Nurkozhoev himself is involved in or benefiting from the business.
When contacted, Aziz Jyrgalbekov explained that, “Bishkek is small, everyone is friends, everyone knows each other and works together”. When asked about the proximity between his business partners and the Kyrgyz president’s nephew, he retorted: “It has no impact”.
President Japarov’s nephew Eskat Nurkozhoev and Syrgakbek Atyshov with their arms around each other’s shoulders. // Syrgakbek Atyshov declares on Instagram that he has imported a German car for Berg Auto (December 2024), via South Korea Adilet. (Credits : Screenshot of Instagram account @salefounder- Forbidden Stories)
Car exports to Kyrgyzstan up by 1,100%
Our investigation has uncovered the mechanisms Russia uses to circumvent Western sanctions. Exporting a car from Europe to Moscow is illegal, but importing a European car to Bishkek is perfectly legal, as is exporting a car from Bishkek to Moscow. Dealerships therefore get by via third-party countries—particularly in Central Asia—such as Kyrgyzstan.
As proof, between 2019 and 2021, $223 million (€216 million) worth of vehicles were imported into Kyrgyzstan. By 2023, this figure rose to $2.7 billion (€2.6 billion), a staggering increase of over 1,100%.
“This figure seems to suggest that almost every family in Kyrgyzstan changed their vehicles… So it’s more likely that the country has become a gateway to Russia,” said economist Carl Grekou, a member of CEPII and the EconomiX-CNRS research laboratory.
Russian customs documents we have been able to consult show that vehicles, and vehicles equipment.
Russian customs documents that we were able to consult show that cars and car parts from Germany, Poland and the Netherlands entered the country in 2023 via Kyrgyzstan. Nearly 900 parts and equipment for BMWs, 820 for Mercedes and 230 for Porsche.
Resourcefulness, developed by locals over many years, is key in Bishkek.
“Importing and exporting goods, particularly cars, is very popular in Kyrgyzstan,” said Temur Umarov, a researcher at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center who has also worked in the automotive industry. “The country doesn’t have many natural resources, unlike Kazakhstan with its immense oil resources, or Uzbekistan with its gas and cotton. Kyrgyzstan doesn’t have these riches, so its elites—and society as a whole—are trying to find other ways to make money.”
A favorable customs system also plays a central role in car smuggling, according to Umarov.
“Taxes are higher in Russia than in Kyrgyzstan (…) This, in addition to the sanctions, has enabled Kyrgyzstan to become a small hub for imports and exports.”
The “Wi-Fi system”: an unstoppable weapon for circumventing Western sanctions
Kyrgyzstan is known for its ingenious system for circumventing sanctions. Some cars display a Kyrgyz customs stamp without even transiting through the country.
Thanks to the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), we were able to retrace the route of this Mercedes-Benz. The vehicle was imported from Germany by an individual based in Bishkek before being exhibited at Berg Auto in Moscow. (Credit: Screenshot – Forbidden Stories)
It’s “a fairly quick and easy option,” said the Berg Auto salesman, speaking to our colleague who posed as a customer.
A Russian contact who works in Moscow’s automobile sector confirmed. “Among unscrupulous Russian importers, it has become a widespread practice to register vehicles in Kyrgyzstan using the names of individuals as a sort of front,” they told us. “Kyrgyzstan is part of the customs union with Russia, so cars don’t need to be cleared again here on Russian soil. Besides, dealing with Kyrgyz customs is simpler. It’s easy to understate the price of vehicles to pay less tax… Not least because of corruption and their lack of resources.”
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a Kyrgyz customs official told one of our consortium’s journalists about this scheme. “Sports cars can go directly to Russia, but they’re registered with us. The documents arrive here, but not the car. We call it the ‘Wi-Fi system.’”
In other words, it’s all done remotely.
“The car isn’t here [in Kyrgyzstan], even though it’s supposed to be,” the customs official continued. “Everyone knows. You can go to a broker, and he’ll tell you openly. The service costs around $2,000. So of course it’s illegal, because in the end, the car isn’t physically present in Kyrgyzstan”.
Aziz Jyrgalbekov, who runs the Kyrgyz side of Berg Auto, however, says he doesn’t use the wi-fi system: “We have been offered this service more than once, but we refused because for us, the moment of crossing the border is important, to have all the documents (…) And the Russians are picky. What you’re talking about – the car that never goes through Kyrgyzstan – that’s only a three-day difference. Why risk your reputation for three days?”
Seizures in Europe
In European Union countries, exporting sanctioned goods to Russia is illegal. In Germany, investigations into “violations of the Foreign Trade Act” are multiplying. A dealership in Bochum is suspected of having sent €5 million worth of luxury cars to Russia; another, in Aschaffenburg, €10 million.
Last June, 60 customs officers carried out an operation in Germersheim, near the French border. “The accused allegedly told the German authorities that the exports were destined for Russia’s neighboring countries, namely Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Turkey, which is not true,” stated the press release from the prosecutor’s office. “The cars were sold in Russia.”
When contacted, Mercedes, Rolls Royce (BMW) and Porsche said they respected the sanctions against Russia, while criticizing the unauthorized behavior of third-party sellers. Porsche stressed that it had no connection with Berg Auto. From our end, we have of course withdrawn all orders for Porsche 911 Turbo.
See also
