Swiss court says S. #Bayartsogt may have signed disadvantageous contract with #Oyu_Tolgoi | The UB Post
▻http://theubpost.mn/2018/03/22/swiss-court-says-s-bayartsogt-may-have-signed-disadvantageous-contract-wit
The highest judicial authority in Switzerland, the Federal Supreme Court, has ruled to uphold the seizure of 1.85 million USD in Swiss bank accounts closely linked to former Minister of Finance S. Bayartsogt. The former finance minister was integral in signing the 2009 Oyu Tolgoi Investment Agreement.
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The court documents reportedly refer to Oyu Tolgoi but do not accuse the company of wrongdoing on the project.
According to the court documents, the corruption investigation by the OAG was launched in 2016 when the bank accounts used to transfer 10.1 million USD to S.Bayartsogt in September 2008 were seized by Swiss authorities.
The Swiss court has raised concern that the transfer of 10.1 million USD came the month he was appointed finance minister.
The Swiss Federal Tribunal’s three-judge panel wrote that evidence pointed to “concrete clues that large amounts of money of questionable origin” had flowed in transfers that were “typical of money laundering”.
“It is very suspicious that the minister of a foreign country, immediately after taking a ministerial post, would be the recipient of such a large sum,” the ruling said.
“There are indications that (S.Bayartsogt) as finance minister signed a contract that was disadvantageous to the Mongolian state,” the Swiss ruling said.
The 2009 investment agreement was negotiated when Turquoise Hill Resources was named Ivanhoe Mines and was chaired by prominent mining entrepreneur Robert Friedland. Rio owned less than 10 percent of Ivanhoe at the time and only acquired more than 50 percent ownership of Ivanhoe until January 2012. Rio was still involved in the striking of the investment agreement.
S.Bayartsogt was forced to resign as Deputy Speaker of Parliament after his offshore dealings were revealed during the publication of the #Panama_Papers.
