Kyrgyz Ex-PM detained amid Kumtor mine investigation

Former Kyrgyz Prime Minister Temir Sariev has been arrested as part of a widening investigation into alleged corruption during the development of the Kumtor gold-mine project.

The State Committee for National Security (UKMK) says Sariev was detained for 48 hours on August 3 on corruption charges ahead of a court decision on pretrial custody.

Sariev served as economy minister in the post-Soviet Central Asian republic in 2011-15 and he was prime minister in 2015-16, Kabar reported.

Kumtor has been a target of financial and environmental disagreements for years, and is currently the subject of an ongoing battle for control between the Kyrgyz state and the mine's operator, Canadian Centerra Gold.