Almost £1,000,000 in cash was allegedly stolen by Taliban rescuers after a Russian air ambulance crash landed in the mountains of Afghanistan, it is reported.
The plane – a Falcon 10 air ambulance – was taking a seriously ill woman Anna Evsyukova, 59, from Thailand to Moscow when it crashed.
Anna and her millionaire husband Anatoly Evsyukov, 65, were both killed in the crash – but the two pilots miraculously survived alongside two medics on the stricken plane.
Now extraordinary allegations have emerged that a large sum of cash – around £945,000 – went missing from the aircraft.
The loss was reported by Hasht-e Subh daily in Afghanistan, who said: ‘Reliable sources have told the newspaper that following the theft of this sum of money, the Badakhshan province governor of the Taliban, Mohammad Ayub Khalid, appointed a commission to establish all facts and investigate this incident on orders from this group’s Deputy Prime Minister Mohammad Hasan Akhund.’
The chief of the Taliban intelligence directorate for Badakhshan province heads this commission.
The group that first reached the plane were linked to the Taliban’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Qari Fasihuddin Fitrat.
One of the Russian medics Igor Syvorotkin, 26, had trekked to the nearest Afghan village, named Pedu, in fierce cold and used sign language to summon help.
It is unclear who the alleged cash belonged to or why such a large sum was being carried on the plane – but so far, neither Afghan nor Russian officials have commented on the ‘missing cash’.
Businessman Evsyukov and his wife had been in Thailand for a regular winter vacation but she became seriously ill soon after arriving in December.
Evsyukov was earlier decorated by Vladimir Putin’s regional governor for ‘valiant’ work building the economy in Rostov region.
The couple’s son Vitali Evsyukov, 41, was not permitted on the small executive air ambulance as only one accompanying passenger was allowed.
He flew on a scheduled flight to Moscow, learning of the horrific crash after he landed.
The four surviving Russians remain in Afghanistan undergoing medical treatment.
However, there are reports that pilot survivor Arkady Grachev and his ex-wife Ekaterina Agapova – who remain in business together offering medical evacuations – could face criminal charges in Russia over the crash.
There were claims that the 46-year-old Falcon 10 executive jet did not have a license to carry passengers via her company ATLETIK-GRUPP LLC, and questions over its condition.
There are also suggestions it crashed because it ran out of fuel.
The plane had flown from U-Tapao airport, near Pattaya, and made a refuelling stop in India.
It crashed while en route to Tashkent for another refuelling stop before heading to Moscow.
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