In Mali, four employees of the Canadian company Barrick Gold, owner with the Malian state of one of the largest gold complexes in the world, were charged and placed in detention pending trial. This is what the company indicates in a press release. Barrick Gold disputes the charges, without specifying them.
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With our regional correspondent, Serge Daniel
For several months, foreign investors in the mining sector have been subject to pressure from the junta. Four Barrick Gold employees had already been arrested in september for undisclosed reasons, before being released after several days. These new arrests come less than a week after the release of the CEO of Resolute Miningan Australian company also operating a gold mine in Maliwho had to commit to paying Bamako 160 million dollars.
“ Money laundering »
“ Money laundering and damage to public property »: these are the charges brought against the four local managers of Barrick Gold. The group canadianin his press releaseis content to confirm the arrests of his collaborators and emphasizes that “ attempts to find a mutually acceptable resolution have so far failed “.
On the Bamako side, however, the tone is rising. A Mines Department official accuses Barrick Gold of “ unorthodox practices “, evoking ” unpaid taxes and other taxes to be collected “. A source close to the matter affirms that the junta is demanding the sum of 320 billion FCFA from Barrick Gold.
This same source, consulted by RFI, links this anger of the Malian authorities to the refusal of partner mining companies to respect a recent agreement. After an audit of mining contracts carried out last year, Bamako openly stated its intention to renegotiate existing agreements with foreign companies. Clear objective: to replenish the rather empty state coffers.
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