Air Astana passenger Anna Magneli has reported the theft of $3,400 during a flight from Tbilisi via Almaty to Da Nang. According to her, instead of the banknotes, the envelope in her carry-on contained Malawian currency, infohub.kz reports.
The woman shared the incident on her personal Instagram page. She claims the money was intended for living in Vietnam after her relocation. According to her, the envelope was with her in her carry-on at all times.
After checking into her apartment, the passenger opened the envelope and discovered that the dollars were missing.
"The money didn't just disappear. The envelope was opened, $3,400 was taken, and another stack of banknotes was put in its place," she said.
Instead of dollars, the envelope contained Malawian banknotes in denominations of 2,000 kwacha. The woman does not know where exactly the swap occurred.
Air Astana responded to the passenger's complaint and recommended she contact law enforcement.
"The airline expresses its sincere regrets over the unpleasant incident related to your baggage. In this case, you must file a statement with law enforcement agencies to identify the persons involved in this action, punish the guilty, and compensate for the damage. Investigation of thefts from passenger baggage is within the competence of law enforcement agencies. The airline is not authorized to conduct such investigations," the statement said.
The airline added that if the crime was committed outside the Republic of Kazakhstan or the place of the crime cannot be determined, or if the crimes were committed in different places, the case is considered by the court at the place where the investigation is completed.