Sources close to Kyrgyz law enforcement told RFE/RL on March 26 that Azerbaijan extradited the former deputy chief of the Kyrgyz Customs Service, Raimbek Matraimov, to Bishkek, where he is wanted for alleged abduction and the illegal incarceration of unspecified individuals. Media reports in Kyrgyzstan said a relative of Matraimov was extradited along with him. Matraimov, who in 2020-2021 was at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal, escaped imprisonment at the time by paying 2 billion soms ($22.3 million) to Kyrgyzstan’s state treasury. He faced the new charges after Kyrgyz police shot dead criminal kingpin Kamchybek Kolbaev in October. To read the original story by RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, click here.
Azerbaijan Reportedly Extradites Former Kyrgyz Customs Official
Raimbek Matraimov, who in 2020-2021 was at the center of a high-profile corruption scandal, escaped imprisonment at the time by paying 2 billion soms ($22.3 million) to Kyrgyzstan’s state treasury.