State Commission on Kumtor to represent Kyrgyzstan in arbitration

Bishkek, May 17, 2021 . / Kabar / . The State Commission for Investigation of Kumtor Gold Mining Company plans to extend its work until the fall of 2021, chairman of the State Commission Akylbek Zhaparov said during an extraordinary session of the Jogorku Kenesh.

According to him, the work of the Commission should continue, so it can help the Government to recover claims from the company.

"Now all the arbitration processes are beginning. We have prepared all the documents. Our lawyers propose that Parliament participate in arbitration proceedings as a representative of the people. The Government and state bodies will be parties of the process, and the parliament is the representative of the citizens. By the way, our four citizens have already won the first court, I hope the other courts will also be fair, and they will represent us in the arbitration court," said Zhaparov.

Earlier, the chairman of the Commission said the Kyrgyz side's claim to Centerra Gold is $4.2 billion.

In February 2021, the Jogorku Kenesh established a State Commission to inspect Kumtor's operations to review compliance with norms and requirements for the rational use of natural resources, environmental protection, safety of production processes and social protection of the population, as well as implementation of decisions of previous parliamentary.

On May 7, the Oktyabr District Court of Bishkek satisfied the claim of four individuals to Kumtor Gold Company CJSC and obliged the company to pay to the state KGS 261 billion 719 million in damages.

Claimants asked to recognize waste storage on Davidov and Lysyi glaciers during development of Kumtor gold deposit as illegal and to exact from the company KGS 261.7 billion of damage to the state. The court fully satisfied the claim.

In addition to the amount of damages, the court ordered to recover from the company a state duty of KGS 1.3 billion. In total, the company is obliged to pay KGS 263 billion, according to the current exchange rate this is USD 3.1 billion.

Kumtor Gold Company CJSC is a subsidiary of the Canadian gold mining company Centerra Gold Inc. It develops the largest gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan Kumtor. Kyrgyzstan, represented by Kyrgyz Altyn OJSC, owns 26.2% of shares in Centerra Gold Inc. and holds the largest stake in Centerra.