"Kyrgyz Ex-President's Brother Among Politicians Arrested In Gold-Mine Probe", 1 June 2021

Kyrgyz authorities say they have detained at least five prominent politicians as part of an investigation into corruption during the development of the Central Asian country's largest gold mine.

The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) said that members of parliament Asylbek Jeenbekov,...[A]nd Torobay Zulpukarov were detained on May 31 on corruption charges for two months.

On the same day, former Prime Minister Omurbek Babanov, as well as ex-deputies Iskhak Pirmatov and Talantbek Uzakbaev, were detained on similar charges for 48 hours.

...The giant Kumtor gold project has been the focus of international attention in recent months after the government moved to temporarily take over operations at the mine for what President Sadyr Japarov said was a necessary move to remedy environmental and safety violations.

A total of four criminal cases are being investigated related to the development of the mine. The project is run by Canada's Centerra Gold, which on May 31 said it had taken legal moves to protect the interests of the company and its investors in response to the seizure of the mine by the Kyrgyz government.