A view of the Kumtor gold mine, in Kumtor 350 kilometers east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, May 28, 2021. The investigation centers on the Kumtor gold mine, which has long been a controversial operation in Kyrgyzstan because of alleged environmental violations and strong sentiment that the government should nationalize it. In early May, the parliament passed a law allowing the state to take control of the mine for three months from its Canada-based operator Centerra and a court levied a $3 billion fine for environmental claims. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)FILE - In this file photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2012, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Omurbek Babanov at Buckingham Palace in London to be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, prior to the 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Kyrgyzstan's security services Monday May 31, 2021, have detained former prime minister Babanov in connection with an investigation of alleged corruption involving the huge gold mine that is the country's largest taxpayer, without giving details of potential charges against Omurbek Babanov. (AP Photo/Sang Tan, File)
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A view of the Kumtor gold mine, in Kumtor 350 kilometers east of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, Friday, May 28, 2021. The investigation centers on the Kumtor gold mine, which has long been a controversial operation in Kyrgyzstan because of alleged environmental violations and strong sentiment that the government should nationalize it. In early May, the parliament passed a law allowing the state to take control of the mine for three months from its Canada-based operator Centerra and a court levied a $3 billion fine for environmental claims. (AP Photo/Vladimir Voronin)
MOSCOW – Kyrgyzstan’s security services have detained a former prime minister in connection with an investigation of corruption involving the huge gold mine that is the country’s largest taxpayer.
A statement from the State Committee for National Security didn't give details of the potential charges against Omurbek Babanov, who was prime minister in 2011-12.
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Kyrgyz media reported that Asylbek Jeenbekov, a brother of the former president, also was detained Monday in the case.
The investigation centers on the Kumtor gold mine, which has long been a controversial operation in Kyrgyzstan because of alleged environmental violations and strong sentiment that the government should nationalize it.
In early May, the parliament passed a law allowing the state to take control of the mine for three months from its Canada-based operator Centerra and a court levied a $3 billion fine for environmental claims.
The mine accounts for more than 12% of the former Soviet Central Asian country’s economy, according to Centerra.
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