Sacha Baron Cohen Offers To Pay The Fines For Men Charged For Wearing Their Mankinis

Sacha wrote a message on his Facebook page to the men who were fined. In his post, he offered to pay the fines as long as the men could provide proof that they were the ones caught in their mankinis by the police.

His gesture received over 30,000 likes and tons of comments where some referred to him as a legend and others stating how his gesture made their day. However, there were nay-sayers who called Sacha out for paying for other's stupidity.

Kazakh law defines hooliganism as an act that is 'a particularly audacious violation of public order' which includes 'committing indecent acts'. The maximum penalty would have a person serving up to a year in jail or in a labor camp, but that is usually only used for violent offenders.

The mankini costume was an instant hit after being featured in the 2006 film Borat! The movie was banned in Kazakhstan because authorities complained that it made the country look backwards, sexist, and racist.

Since the release, the national feeling has softened when Foreign Minister Yerzhan Kazykhanov praised the film saying that it brought in a huge increase in tourism in 2012. But, not long after he said that the film was the center of controversy again when the made-up Kazakh anthem from the movie was actually played during the Arab Shooting Championships instead of the real anthem....whoops!

Kazakh officers were outraged and demanded an immediate and swift investigation into the mix up. The anthem from the movie is actually sung in English and has lyrics about removing human waste from swimming pools and Kazakh inventions like belts and toffees.