Sacha Baron Cohen offers to pay Kazakhstan tourists' Borat mankini fines

Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, famous for his character Borat from Kazakhstan, has offered to pay the fines of six tourists arrested for wearing nothing but neon-green mankinis on a chilly day in the Kazakh capital, Astana.

Local media reported the six Czech men were detained by police while attempting to take a photograph in front of a sign that said "I love Astana."

The men were fined the equivalent of about $US70 ($A98) for "hooliganism," the Informburo news agency reported.

"To my Czech mates who were arrested. Send me your details and proof that it was you, and I'll pay your fine," Baron Cohen said in a Facebook post.

The men were apparently imitating the comedian's character Borat from his 2006 mockumentary film Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

A photo of the men with their naked butts exposed on a snowy street in Astana went viral as the story was picked up by numerous news outlets.

It's not the first time Cohen's character has upset the Kazakhs. Authorities condemned the film after it was release for portraying Kazakhs as misogynist, racist and stupid.

However, six years later officials credited the success of the film with increasing tourism to Kazakhstan. The number of requests for tourists visas reportedly increased tenfold after the release of the movie.