Hot rods, cold trails A new joint investigation reveals how luxury cars reach Russian buyers through Kyrgyzstan despite international sanctions

The Moscow car dealership Berg Auto Premium offers customers a “wide selection” of luxury vehicles that have become unavailable in Russia due to sanctions and a ban on importing luxury goods. The premium vehicles on offer include models like the Tesla Cybertruck, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, and Porsche Cayenne Coupe. The cars are brought in through Kyrgyzstan, where they are often issued customs documents “remotely,” without the vehicle physically present, according to a joint investigation by journalists at Novaya Gazeta Europe, OCCRP, iStories, Temirov Live, PaperTrail Media, Siena, and Forbidden Stories.

More than three years into the war in Ukraine, at a lot located just beyond the Moscow Ring Road, Berg Auto Premium sells luxury Western cars to Russians who can pay. The business’s website declares, “For us, there are no borders.”

Posing as a customer, an iStories journalist telephoned the dealership and inquired about purchasing a German Porsche 911 Turbo. She was assured that “the car, the country of manufacture — everything will be European.” The dealership explained that the vehicle would be shipped from Europe to Bishkek by plane and then transported to Moscow. The salesperson said another delivery option was ferrying the car to the Republic of Georgia.

However, journalists report that most luxury cars are routed through Kyrgyzstan. According to customs statistics, in 2023, Kyrgyzstan imported $2.7 billion worth of vehicles — nearly 12 times more than between 2019 and 2021, marking a 1,100-percent increase. Over the past year, nearly 900 BMWs, 820 Mercedes-Benz vehicles, and 230 Porsches entered Russia through this channel.

Speaking anonymously to investigators, a Kyrgyz customs official said vehicles receiving a Kyrgyz customs stamp often never actually enter the country. He revealed that obtaining a fake customs clearance document costs between $2,000 and $3,000 per vehicle. “These cars are registered with us but never physically arrive here. We call it the ‘Wi-Fi system’ — everything happens remotely,” he explained. A Russian automotive expert clarified that cars imported from Kyrgyzstan do not require customs clearance in Russia, allowing sellers to save on import duties.

Berg Auto Premium’s founders include the businessman Mark Berg. Journalists discovered that Berg is a Lithuanian national also known by the name Benas Gutkauskas. The International Federation for Equestrian Sports website lists him as a Lithuanian showjumping competitor, and open-source data indicate that he’s lived in Russia for many years. He apparently changed his name after 2022 and acquired Russian citizenship. At the same time, Gutkauskas has retained his Lithuanian citizenship, according to the local news outlet Siena. In Lithuania, Gutkauskas has also faced criminal prosecution three times for violent and disorderly conduct, including assault with a hockey stick.

Berg Auto Premium has a Kyrgyz branch page on Instagram. Journalists identified Aziz Jyrgalbekov as the contact person, and he confirmed to OCCRP that the dealership imports vehicles from Europe and South Korea through Kyrgyzstan.

“On our local market, we all know each other — there are Kyrgyz, Russians, Belarusians. We all work together and help each other,” Jyrgalbekov told OCCRP.

Journalists found another figure linked to the Kyrgyz branch of Berg Auto Premium: Syrgakbek Atyshov. He posted TikTok videos showing vehicles being shipped to Moscow, including a new Range Rover Autobiography. According to journalists, Atyshov has ties to the Kyrgyz president’s family. His social media also features numerous photos indicating that he often spends time with Eskat Nurkozhoev, the nephew of President Sadyr Japarov.

The joint investigation into Berg Auto Premium began with reporting by Bolot Temirov, the founder of the Kyrgyz outlet Temirov Life, who was expelled from the country and stripped of his citizenship in 2022. 

Journalists from his project continued working in Kyrgyzstan, leading to the arrest of 11 colleagues in January 2024. A judge later sentenced two of these people (one of whom is Temirov’s wife) to prison terms. Another two defendants received probation. Temirov says the police crackdown came after the journalists began investigating links between Berg Auto Premium and the Kyrgyz authorities.