Kloop

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Kloop is an independent news and investigations outlet based in Kyrgyzstan. It started in 2007, founded by journalists Bektour Iskender and Rinat Tuhvatshin, and it runs its own journalism school to train young reporters.

In 2010, Kloop gained major attention for reporting that Maxim Bakiyev, the president’s son, illegally gained control of Kyrgyztelecom, the country’s largest telecom company. After threats over the story, Kloop’s work helped bring more attention during Kyrgyzstan’s 2010 revolution.

Kloop has published several high-profile investigations. In 2017, it released Samaragate, about a mysterious Samara website that hosted voter data and was used by Sooronbay Jeenbekov’s campaign to influence voters. The work involved partners like Qurium and OCCRP.

In 2019 and 2020, Kloop teamed with OCCRP and Radio Liberty on the Plunder and Patronage series, exposing a cargo-bribery scheme at Kyrgyzstan’s border linked to a group of Chinese businessmen. The reporting suggested hundreds of millions of dollars were laundered. The story earned awards, including the Tom Renner Award from IRE, and was recognized by GIJN. In 2021, a data journalism piece on femicide won a Sigma Award.

Kloop has received global recognition, including the Free Media Pioneer award in 2024 from the International Press Institute, and its co-founder was invited to the TED conference as a Senior Fellow.

Since 2019, Kloop has faced government pressure: threats, lawsuits, and attempts to shut it down, along with being labeled an extremist organization. One key source from the Plunder and Patronage investigation, Aierken Saimaiti, was murdered in Istanbul. In Kyrgyzstan, the Matraimov family filed a large lawsuit against Kloop and Radio Liberty.

From 2023 to 2024, authorities moved to close Kloop by liquidating its parent foundation. A court ordered liquidation in 2024, and the Supreme Court upheld it that year. In 2025, security forces raided current and former staff, leading to arrests and prison sentences that were later softened to probation. Human rights groups criticized the trials as flawed and politically motivated.