Joint Investigation by Temirov Live and Cyprus Daily News
Cyprus has become a haven for many Russian businessmen seeking to safeguard their wealth and gain access to European benefits. Some, having obtained Cypriot citizenship, publicly declare the island their home and claim to have severed all ties with Russia. In reality, they continue to conduct business in Russia and invest in countries with pro-Russian regimes, such as Kyrgyzstan.
Since becoming Kyrgyzstan’s president in 2020, Sadyr Japarov has willingly embraced a vassal-like dependence on Moscow, consistently strengthening political and economic ties with the Kremlin.
Following the imposition of sanctions against Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan has emerged as a key hub for sanctions evasion, actively utilized by Russian authorities with the complicity and acquiescence of official Bishkek. The country plays a critical role in supplying dual-use goods to Russia.
Financial operations channeled through Kyrgyzstan enable the Kremlin to fund its war against Ukraine and the West.
In January 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on Kyrgyzstan’s Keremet Bank for coordinating with Russia’s Promsvyazbank, which serves the Russian defense sector. Other banks engaged in similar activities have so far avoided sanctions.
In August 2024, the Kyrgyz government established the state-owned Trading Company of the Kyrgyz Republic, which oversees foreign trade operations, including those where goods do not physically enter the country. Many experts view this entity as a state-level mechanism for circumventing anti-Russian sanctions.
Since 2022, the United States and the European Union have sanctioned at least 12 Kyrgyz companies for assisting Russia in evading sanctions.
Japarov’s first foreign visit as head of state was to Russia in February 2021. Since then, he has repeatedly visited Moscow, including to attend the Victory Day parade on May 9—a cornerstone of Putin’s annual “victory obsession” cult.
In May 2025, Japarov again traveled to Moscow at Vladimir Putin’s invitation and attended the Victory Day parade on Red Square.
Japarov at the Victory Day Parade, May 9, 2025, in Moscow
It is evident that Sadyr Japarov is dependent on the Kremlin, a fact reflected in both Kyrgyzstan’s foreign and domestic policies. Japarov and his inner circle have repeatedly faced corruption allegations. Investigations by independent journalists reveal how his relatives and close associates have enriched themselves through corrupt deals and abuse of power.
Domestically, Japarov has established a repressive dictatorship. He persecutes the opposition and independent media. Journalists face fabricated criminal charges, with many imprisoned or forced to flee the country, fearing for their lives. Human rights are grossly violated in Kyrgyzstan, laws are effectively non-functional, and the judiciary is subservient to the president and his entourage.
Any sensible businessman would recognize that investing in the economy of an authoritarian and corrupt Central Asian republic is sheer madness—unless, of course, the investor has personal ties to the president or his circle, turning risks into opportunities.
Such investors do exist, though they are few, which is why each one draws attention. When investments are directed toward blatantly corrupt projects, curiosity turns into a necessity to investigate such deals.
One such clearly corrupt project began in Bishkek in late April. According to The Economist, on April 29, the Bishkek mayor’s office signed an investment agreement with Invest KG Holding LLC. Mayor Aibek Junushaliev stated the investment amounts to 2.6 billion soms—approximately $30 million USD. However, experts estimate the project’s total cost could reach $90 million USD.
Official reports indicate the project involves reconstructing the former Western Bus Station into an exhibition center, renovating the “Youth” and “40 Years of October” parks, constructing residential and commercial buildings on the sites of the old Tazalyk municipal bases, and building an underground passage on Zhibek Zholu Avenue.
Other media reports describe the reconstruction of two city parks and a municipal enterprise site, which lack any investment appeal. This is an entirely unprofitable project with no clear commercial return or recoupment of funds. It appears as though the investor was compelled to fund city improvements in exchange for access to other, more lucrative contracts kept secret from the public. Overall, the project gives the impression of a sophisticated scheme to launder and legitimize money under the guise of a formal investment agreement.
At first glance, this is a typical urban improvement project. Economically, it holds no appeal for investors: neither the scale of construction, the exhibition center format, park renovations, nor urban infrastructure development guarantees profit. For any businessman, investing tens of millions of euros in such a scheme would seem absurd.
Yet this project is unique—not for its scale or dubious economics, but for the unprecedented generosity with which city authorities handed over key urban infrastructure and vast public spaces in the heart of the capital—approximately 45 hectares—to a private investor.
For this project, the Western Bus Station was transferred to the investor, and the bus station itself was relocated far outside the city. As a result, tens of thousands of people face daily inconveniences and a sharp decline in transportation logistics. Understanding the authorities’ true motives, Bishkek residents are increasingly vocal in their discontent, believing officials prioritize personal gain and secret deals with connected businessmen over citizens’ convenience and interests.
The investor’s identity is particularly intriguing. According to Kyrgyzstan’s Ministry of Justice, Invest KG Holding LLC was registered in Kyrgyz jurisdiction just three months before the investment agreement was signed—on January 27, 2025.
The company’s director is Oksana Igorevna Yankovskaya, a Russian citizen. Its founders are Alexey Gubarev, a former Russian citizen now holding Cypriot and Lithuanian citizenship, and his 100%-owned Cypriot company, INVEST KG HOLDING LIMITED, where he also serves as director.
It has also come to light that Yankovskaya is simultaneously the director of another Kyrgyz company, Avtovokzal Musey LLC, also registered on January 27, 2025. Its founders are, again, Alexey Gubarev and his 100%-owned Cypriot company, AG CAR MUSEUM LTD, where he serves as director.
Although Avtovokzal Musey LLC is not formally a party to the investment contract, its connection to Invest KG Holding LLC is evident through the shared director, Oksana Yankovskaya, and the Cypriot companies owned by the same individual—Alexey Gubarev.
Both Avtovokzal Musey LLC and Invest KG Holding LLC, registered in January 2025, have no publicly available information about their financial status or operations. The same applies to the Cypriot company INVEST KG HOLDING LIMITED, established in November 2024, five months before the Bishkek mayor’s office contract.
In contrast, AG CAR MUSEUM LTD, registered in Cyprus in February 2020, has reported its financial activities. According to its 2022 financial statement, the company holds several hundred vintage cars, valued at €14,906,732 as non-current financial assets.
Alexey Gubarev’s obsession with cars is well-known. In an interview with the travel blog Pipeaway, he discusses his MadWay Rally project, proudly describing his collection of vintage cars and rallies in remote, hard-to-reach regions. In the same interview, he claims cosmonaut Alexey Gubarev as his uncle.
This interview sheds light on the scale of Gubarev’s spending on extravagant leisure activities, accessible to very few. This is significant in the context of his activities in Cyprus and Kyrgyzstan.
In Cyprus, Gubarev has acquired dozens of vintage cars and established a restoration workshop in Limassol. Beyond cars, he collects phonographs, radios, telephones, and other vintage technology, all restored in a dedicated workshop he purchased.
Sources suggest Gubarev plans to open a retro technology and car museum named after himself, likely the purpose behind AG CAR MUSEUM LTD, as its name implies. In the context of the Bishkek investment contract, it’s possible Gubarev intends to realize his museum project in Kyrgyzstan’s capital.
Gubarev is well-known in tech and investment circles. His name gained international attention in early 2017 when BuzzFeed published a dossier compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, alleging Gubarev was recruited by Russian intelligence and played a key role in hacking the Democratic Party’s servers during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
Gubarev’s Cypriot company, XBT Holding, co-founded with his longtime partner Nikolay Dvas, became the first foreign company in 2015 to receive permission to operate servers in Russia. To comply with Russian law, the company obtained a telecommunications license, requiring operators to install SORM (System for Operative Investigative Activities) equipment used by Russian intelligence for surveillance, espionage, and data interception. After obtaining the license, the company coordinated with the FSB, which appointed a liaison for further interaction. The company’s owners committed to cooperating with Russian intelligence and following their orders. Given this cooperation, it’s hard to imagine Gubarev and Dvas are not still under Russian intelligence control.
In 2016, Gubarev and XBT Holdings acquired a Moscow-based hosting company, Edinaya Set, which also used SORM equipment in the FSB’s interests, as required by Russian law. According to Russia’s corporate registry, Gubarev, through intermediaries, remained the owner of this company until December 2024.
In 2021, Gubarev founded association TechIsland in Cyprus, uniting over 200 tech companies, many of Russian origin. Most of these companies previously operated in Russia under FSB licenses and used SORM equipment for espionage, surveillance, and data interception. There is no reason to believe these companies ceased cooperating with Russian intelligence after relocating to Cyprus.
Together with Yuri Gursky, Gubarev founded the tech company Palta (formerly Haxus). According to the Cyprus Confidential leaks, Putin-linked oligarch Roman Abramovich invested $63 million in European startups through the Moscow-based venture fund Target Global. A significant portion of these funds went to Palta and its projects, including the popular women’s health app Flo.
Documents reveal that in 2020–2021, Abramovich and his affiliated entities provided Target Global with loans totaling $23.5 million to finance Flo, owned by Gubarev.
Sources also indicate Abramovich’s interest in Kyrgyzstan. In December 2024, Asia News reported that the Russian oligarch allegedly visited Karakol on the same day as President Japarov. While the article lacked direct evidence, circumstantial clues suggest Abramovich may indeed have visited Kyrgyzstan and met with Japarov four months before Gubarev’s companies signed the investment agreement with Bishkek’s mayor’s office and one month before the registration of Avtovokzal Musey LLC and Invest KG Holding LLC. This is unlikely to be a coincidence. Given Gubarev and Abramovich’s past joint projects, it’s plausible they continue to collaborate on investments in Kyrgyzstan. As Abramovich is under sanctions in most Western countries, Gubarev, with his Cypriot and Lithuanian citizenship, may be acting as a frontman for the Russian oligarch, representing his interests through his own entities.
Despite publicly claiming to have cut all ties with Russia since 2019, Gubarev continues to visit Moscow regularly.
Additionally, Gubarev consistently provides financial support to the administration of his hometown, Ust-Ilimsk. The city’s official website frequently publishes gratitude for his sponsorship of various events, many of which are tied to promoting Kremlin propaganda and supporting the war in Ukraine.
In 2020, Gubarev donated a bronze sculpture titled “Family” to the city, contradicting his claims of severing ties with Russia since 2019.
In May 2025, Gubarev sponsored a Victory Day concert on May 9, an exhibition of portraits of Russian war criminals killed in Ukraine, and the “Immortal Regiment” event in his hometown. These actions unequivocally demonstrate Gubarev’s support for Putin’s regime and its crimes.
In January 2025, days before registering his Kyrgyz companies, the Russian outlet Forbes, owned by Kremlin-linked oligarch Magomed Musaev, published an article titled “Northern Import: How Russian-Speaking Immigrants Transformed Cyprus.” The article describes Gubarev’s transformation into a highly influential figure in Cypriot politics, claiming that five government ministers personally participated in building a Russian school at his behest, and the parliament, under his influence, amended citizenship laws to simplify naturalization for Russian citizens arriving as alleged IT specialists, many of whom are not.
In the same Forbes article, Gubarev proudly declares Cyprus his home, noting that during the COVID-19 pandemic, he and other Russian IT businessmen donated €1 million to Cyprus’s healthcare system.
However, a cursory analysis of Gubarev’s Pipeaway interview, where he also calls Cyprus home, reveals the scale of his spending on personal entertainment. Purchasing and restoring cars, logistics for rally transportation, participant travel (via planes and helicopters), camp setups, food, fuel, repairs, local authority coordination, entertainment programs, and concerts far exceed his charitable donation to Cyprus’s healthcare system.
His attempts to craft a positive image through modest donations starkly contrast with his lavish spending on role-playing games, corporate events, hobbies, and, according to sources, large quantities of a “white invigorating powder” consumed by Gubarev and his circle. Sources claim Gubarev is addicted and cannot function without daily use of this substance, as is common in his entourage. In Cyprus’s Russian community, this is seen as a status symbol of success and elite membership.
Gubarev also spends heavily on shamanic practices involving ayahuasca. According to former employees and acquaintances, Gubarev and his wife are deeply engrossed in esotericism and shamanism, particularly South American indigenous rituals.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Gubarev reportedly invited Amazonian shamans and organized rituals on a yacht outside Cyprus’s territorial waters. During these rituals, participants allegedly used psychotropic substances, including ayahuasca—a traditional Amazonian plant mixture inducing hallucinations and altered states of consciousness. Afterward, participants reportedly crawled on the deck in their own excrement, unresponsive to external stimuli.
Gubarev’s eccentric behavior reflects a desire to indulge in every pleasure money can buy—and he has plenty of it.
Yet this “Cypriot patriot,” “philanthropist,” and “public figure,” loudly proclaiming his love for the island, is suddenly investing tens of millions of euros in dubious projects in a country heavily influenced by Moscow.
According to media reports, in 2023, Gubarev held his first MadWay Rally in Kyrgyzstan. On the final day, July 1, 2023, he organized the MadWay Fest music festival in Cholpon-Ata, marking the rally’s conclusion, at significant cost.
The event featured Russian artists Diana Arbenina and Uma2rman (the Kristovsky brothers), who are sanctioned by Ukraine for publicly supporting Putin’s regime and the war against Ukraine.
In 2024, Gubarev organized another rally in Kyrgyzstan, this time meeting with President Sadyr Japarov.
A video from July 1, 2024, shows Japarov and Gubarev interacting like old acquaintances. It would be naive to assume this meeting was spontaneous or uncoordinated. Japarov is not known for meeting foreign tourists, yet he made an exception here, suggesting prior contact with Gubarev, possibly well before their public encounter.
Alexey Gubarev (right) with Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov
In late February 2024, social media accounts DUNE kg (TikTok) and dunekg0520 (Instagram, now inaccessible) posted a video showing gold bars prepared for export from Kyrgyzstan to Cyprus.
The bars were unmarked, indicating they were likely intended for the black market.
Kyrgyz investigative journalist Bolot Temirov, who obtained information about the gold smuggling, published a YouTube video titled “Is Japarov Exporting Gold to Cyprus?”
Excerpt from the video translation:
“As-salamu alaikum, boss. The guys delivered the cargo. I personally checked and accepted it. Inshallah, everything’s fine. Sabyr ava (in the Issyk-Kul dialect, ‘ava’ is a respectful term for an elder, literally ‘brother’). No info on the shipment yet, but we’re sending it now,” says a man, pointing to a crate of gold bars.
The voiceover comments:
“The boxes show markings: date—July 2, 2023, quantity, and the codes IKU/LCA, representing Tamchy (Kyrgyzstan) and Larnaca (Cyprus) airports. Indeed, on July 2 (the day after the MadWay Rally 2023 concluded), a corresponding flight took place. A private jet from Malta’s AirX Charter departed Tamchy at 3:41 p.m. Bishkek time and landed in Cyprus five hours later.”
Temirov established that the flight was a charter, AXY120Y, operated by an Embraer Lineage 1000 (registration 9H-DEE) owned by AirX Charter, landing in Larnaca on July 2, 2023.
In the video, the man reports to a “Sabyr ava.” Notably, President Japarov has a brother named Sabyr, and this is not the first time his name has been linked to allegations of illegal gold exports.
On May 9, 2024, the dunekg0520 account posted further details, including alleged cash receipts and WhatsApp screenshots.One photo with stacks of cash shows the date “July 3, 2023”—the day after the gold flight. The box also bears the inscriptions “Muras” and “IKU” (Tamchy airport code). The signature and name are illegible. The phone used for the correspondence, likely belonging to Sabyr Japarov, is registered in Switzerland.
WhatsApp conversation translation (from the now-deleted second video):
1:00 p.m. — Hello, Sabyr ava! How are you?
1:00 p.m. — Good. You?
1:01 p.m. — Good, ava. I’m in the loop. I’ll send you a video, watch it and I’ll delete it right away.
1:03 p.m. — Okay.
1:08 p.m. — Deleting the video.
1:11 p.m. — Okay, delete it.
1:18 p.m. — Flight at 3:00 p.m.
1:18 p.m. — Okay, they’ll hand it over tomorrow afternoon.
1:18 p.m. — Got it, understood.
2:31 a.m. — Hey, boss. Handed over.
7:48 a.m. — Hey. Okay. Let me know when you receive it.
7:50 a.m. — Got it! Boss, per my request, when can I pick it up? My son’s surgery is in a week, need to pay.
7:58 a.m. — Don’t worry, just wait.
8:50 p.m. — Boss picked it up.
8:51 p.m. — Total, how much came through?
8:58 p.m. — Today’s first batch—63,500,000 “green.” (Video shows bags of dollars.)
9:27 p.m. — Can we send to Raikul now?
9:27 p.m. — [voice call] 9:30 p.m. — All correct. Good. Deliver it fully.
The conversation suggests the money was transferred on July 3, the day after the Tamchy-Larnaca flight. The recipient confirms receiving the first batch—$63.5 million—and asks if it can be sent to Raikul (Japarov’s sister).
The same private jet used for the gold delivery flew from Larnaca to Croatia, then Bulgaria, and Dubai on July 3. The phrase “Boss picked it up” may indicate the money was transferred in Croatia.
Full flight path of the jet on July 3, 2023: Larnaca-Croatia-Bulgaria-Dubai
After Temirov’s investigation, a Kyrgyz anonymous channel posted a video claiming to “debunk” the gold smuggling allegations. Likely an attempt by authorities to deflect accusations via a loyal outlet, the “debunking” was unconvincing and only fueled suspicions.
The video showed a passenger list for the July 2, 2023, Tamchy-Larnaca flight, including prominent Cyprus-based IT business figures and company executives, as well as a well-known Cypriot lawyer.
The video claimed the plane carried only “tourists” and no gold. However, this raises more questions than it answers.
Passenger list for the July 2, 2023, Tamchy-Larnaca flight:
“Alexeis Syarki
Georgios Hadjigeorgiou
Mark Fitzpatrick
Sergey Tokarev
Petr Valov
Kristina Valova
Anna Gubareva
Kristina Gubareva
Elena Radaeva
Andrejs Zavadskis
Olga Pavlyutkina
Elena Udalova
Oleg Netepenko
Natalia Mutovkina
Alexey Gubarev
Pavel Radaev.”
This list is notable for several reasons. First, it includes no random individuals—nearly all are owners or top executives of major IT companies and their relatives. According to Forbes, this group, led by Gubarev, wields significant influence over Cyprus’s government and parliament.
Second, the list omits passengers 19 and 20, suggesting their names were deliberately removed. Sources in Kyrgyzstan indicate these could be members of Japarov’s entourage overseeing the gold shipment.
One man, possibly redacted from the list, may be the voice reporting to the “boss” about the cargo’s readiness.
Notably, no other flights from Tamchy to Larnaca were recorded on July 2, 2023.
After the gold bars were transported to Cyprus, Kyrgyz authorities transferred a massive central Bishkek land plot to Gubarev and dismantled the bus station vital to residents. This was likely in exchange for favors rendered to Sadyr Japarov: first the gold, then the rally with high-profile guests, then the land for business—a logical chain.
The choice of director for Invest KG Holding LLC and Avtovokzal Museum LLC is also curious. No public records indicate Oksana Yankovskaya has experience in investment or development.
Yankovskaya with Bishkek Mayor Junushaliev
However, it was established that Yankovskaya worked for years in the Ust-Ilimsk city administration as deputy mayor.
Yankovskaya in the Ust-Ilimsk Mayor’s Office
According to Russia’s Pension Fund, Gubarev’s mother, Lyudmila Ivanovna Gubareva, who obtained Cypriot citizenship in 2018, also worked in the same administration.
The Ust-Ilimsk city administration website mentions Yankovskaya and the Gubarevs frequently. Notably, Oksana Yankovskaya initiated a sculpture installation in the city, funded by Alexey and Lyudmila Gubarev. She attended the unveiling ceremony.
Yankovskaya is clearly not a stranger to Gubarev. He likely appointed her as a nominal director to distance himself from the project’s management while controlling it through a trusted proxy, possibly to avoid publicity, as Gubarev shuns the spotlight. This aligns with his pattern of obfuscating his actions and business interests, evidenced by over a hundred companies registered under various spellings of his name, such as ALEXEY GUBAREV, ALEXEJ GUBAREV, ΑΛΕΞΕΥ ΓΚΟΥΜΠΑΡΕΒ, ALEXEF GKOUMPAREV, ALEXEU NKOUMPAREB.
How Gubarev manipulates his data in documents and how these discrepancies go unnoticed in company registries remains a mystery.
However, given his reported influence over Cyprus’s government and parliament, as noted by Forbes, this influence likely extends to the Ministry of Interior, which oversees the company registry. Forbes also reports that Cyprus’s Interior Minister, among other officials, readily responds to Gubarev’s requests, even personally participating in building a Russian school at his behest. The basis of such close ties between the minister, other officials, and the Russian businessman remains unclear.
Analysis of Gubarev’s numerous companies suggests he may use multiple passports with different name spellings. Some sources also hint at Gubarev possibly holding Kyrgyz citizenship, though no official confirmation exists.
Gubarev’s business in Kyrgyzstan undoubtedly relies on ties with local elites loyal to Russia. His investment activities in a country enabling evasion of European oversight raise serious questions about his true motives. The investment scheme only heightens suspicions. In the context of Japarov’s authoritarian and corrupt regime, where no prudent investor—especially one claiming European values—would venture, Gubarev’s involvement is, at the very least, ambiguous.
Alexey Gubarev is a symbol of hypocrisy, leveraging Cypriot and Lithuanian citizenship for EU benefits while maintaining loyalty to Kremlin elites.
Iosif BRONSHTEIN
Viktor KOSTENKO
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