Why fining the Canadian owners of a gold mine could hit Kyrgyzstan hard
May 13, 2021
A fine of 3.1 billion US dollars imposed by a court in Kyrgyzstan on the operator of the country’s largest gold mine has raised alarm among those who fear it will deter foreign investors.
A Kyrgyz district court last week handed a whopping 3.1 billion US dollars fine to the Kumtor Gold Company, the owner of the largest gold mine in the country, after ruling that it had violated environmental standards.
The decision came just a day after the Kyrgyz parliament passed legislation which would allow the state to temporarily nationalise any company found to be harming the environment or human lives.