Kyrgyzstan link said Monday it haddetained a former prime minister over corruption at the country’s largestgold link mine, the centre of a legal disputewith Canadian firm Centerra.
The giant Kumtor gold link mine is theCentral Asian country’s largest foreign investment project and accounts foraround a tenth of the economy.
Kumtor was operated by Centerra Gold linkKyrgyz authorities suddenly seized the mine, prompting the Toronto StockExchange-listed company to turn to an international court.
Kyrgyzstan link rubber stampparliament earlier this month passed a law allowing authorities totemporarily seize the mine and appoint “external management” to remedyaddress environmental and safety problems.
On Monday, the country’s security service said it had detained a popularformer prime minister, Omurbek Babanov, as part of a probelink into corruption “at various stages ofthe development” of the Kumtor project.
Babanov, 51, served as prime minister in 2011-12.
Centerra said this month it was “no longer in control of the Kumtor Mineand can no longer ensure the safety of the mine’s employees or operations”after government officials entered the mine and raided company offices inBishkek on the weekend of May 15-16.
The escalation came after a state commission said Kyrgyzstanlink was seeking over $4 billion (3.2billion euros) in environmental and unpaid tax claims from Centerra, whichhas denied any wrongdoing.
Kyrgyzstan link has since appointed itsown management team to run the mine but President Sadyr Japarov said lastweek the government had not ruled out reaching a deal with Centerra.
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As an opposition politician, Japarov led an unsuccessful bid to nationalisethe mine both inside parliament and on the streets, where he oversawseveral rallies against the company.
He rose to power in October during a political crisis that saw him firstfreed from jail where he was serving time for hostage-taking.
Japarov has always insisted that the conviction was triggered by hisopposition to Centerra.
Babanov was one of Japarov’s main rivals in last year’s power struggle thatprompted then-president Sooronbay Jeenbekov to resign, allowing Japarov tobecome leader.
Centerra said this month that it has filed for international arbitrationagainst Kyrgyzstan link in a bid todefend its star asset.
This is the third time the two parties have locked horns in internationalcourts.
Two previous disputes were solved with new revenue-sharing agreements forthe mine. -APP/AFP
