On May 4, the Oktyabrsky District Court of Bishkek made a decision against the director of the Kumtor Gold Company’s finance department, Ryspek Toktogulov, and KGC supply specialist Aisha-Gul Frontbek kyzy. They were detained in September last year along with the former external manager of Kumtor, Tengiz Bolturuk. The court found Toktogulov guilty of several violations of the procedure for conducting public tenders, auctions or government procurement (Article 247 of the Criminal Code of the Kyrgyz Republic) and fined him 200 thousand soms. Frontback Kyzy was also found guilty under this article. She was sentenced to a fine of 110 thousand soms.
“Kumtor” and prison Bolturuk
Tengiz Bolturuk has led Kumtor since May 17, 2021, when the Kyrgyz authorities introduced external management of the mine. On August 24, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers reported that Bolturuk was removed from the management of the mine. This happened after an audit by the Accounts Chamber, which found financial irregularities in the company.
Bolturuk was detained in September 2022, after the Prosecutor General’s Office opened three criminal cases following an inspection of the mine’s operation. According to investigators, the company caused damage to the state amounting to more than 1 billion soms. Together with Bolturuk, supply specialist Aisha-Gul Frontbek kyzy, director of the finance department Ryspek Toktogulov and executive director of the company Kanat Kurmanov were detained.
In mid-March, Deputy Prosecutor General Umutkan Konkubaeva reported that those detained in the corruption case at Kumtor compensated 642 million soms out of the total damage caused in the amount of 1 billion 146 million soms. On October 23 , it became known that the materials of the criminal case against Bolturuk were transferred to the court. The case will be heard in the Pervomaisky District Court of Bishkek.
