Thread by @OCCRP

NEW INVESTIGATION: A few weeks ago, a Kyrgyz man named Aierken Saimaiti met a reporter from @RFERL at an upscale restaurant on the shores of the Bosphorus. /1

A self-described money launderer, Saimaiti had been personally responsible for moving a massive $700 million out of Kyrgyzstan. For several months, he’d been meeting with reporters to hand over documents and expose the details of the operation he’d run. /2

This meeting in Istanbul was only the latest, although it was here that he shared his latest and most telling batch of evidence. He promised that more was yet to come. /3

That day never came, however. On November 10, Saimaiti was shot dead. In the 11 days since, reporters from OCCRP, @RFERL, and @kloopnews have worked day in and day out to to piece together, verify, and publish the story he was trying to tell. /4

Along the way, the Kyrgyz journalists involved have received credible threats to their safety, underscoring the urgency of publishing these stories and the original documents that back them up. /5

Starting today, we are publishing a set of articles that reveals how a vast underground cargo empire run by a secretive Uighur family systematically funneled massive bribes to Kyrgyzstan’s customs service with the help of Raimbek Matraimov, a powerful former customs official. /6

Saimaiti knew so much about this scheme because he had been a crucial player in its functioning. But he was determined to expose it. This investigative project will stand as his final word. /7

occrp.org/en/plunder-and…