On February 5, 2025, a Bishkek court sentenced former Kyrgyz Minister of Natural Resources, Dinara Kutmanova, and her son, Kemelbek Kutmanov, to eight years in prison each. Kutmanova was convicted of abuse of office, while her son faced charges of large-scale fraud. Both also received additional penalties: confiscation of property and bans from public office or business activity for three years.
The convictions are tied to a sweeping corruption case involving the Kumtor Gold Mine—one of Kyrgyzstan’s most valuable national assets. Kutmanova, who began overseeing the country’s environmental and natural resources apparatus in 2021, became a central figure in the government’s post-nationalization management of the mine. Once a vocal critic of foreign ownership of Kumtor, she and her son had long-standing ties to the mine’s nationalist campaign. In fact, Kutmanov was among the plaintiffs in a 2021 environmental lawsuit that partly paved the way for the state’s takeover of the mine from Canadian company Centerra Gold.
In July 2023, Kyrgyzstan’s State Committee for National Security (SCNS) launched an investigation alleging that Kutmanova had abused her authority to misappropriate millions from the Nature Development Fund—an entity financed by Kumtor profits and tasked with supporting environmental projects. According to the SCNS, more than 789 million soms (around $9 million) in fund allocations were disbursed to individuals and organizations under suspicious circumstances between 2021 and 2023.
One example cited by authorities involved a non-transparent contract worth 34 million soms for special uniforms, allegedly awarded to a family friend without a public tender. Market value assessments suggested the actual cost of the uniforms was no more than 11 million soms, with the remainder reportedly pocketed by Kutmanova’s family. Investigators reviewed 22 out of 110 funded projects and claimed most did not meet their intended purpose.
The case gained further attention when, shortly after SCNS chief Kamchybek Tashiev accused Kutmanova of massive corruption in a July 2023 Cabinet meeting, she gave a defiant interview denying the charges. The situation intensified when she revealed that her son had allegedly been kidnapped in Istanbul in late June and held for ransom—a case she said she was advised not to publicize. Kemelbek Kutmanov was later extradited from Turkey in October 2023.
Kutmanova’s arrest followed days later, on July 25, 2023, and her case has since become a symbol of the government’s pledge to root out corruption, even among high-ranking former officials. Authorities described her as the “main organizer and ideological driver” of the corruption within the Ministry of Natural Resources and its affiliated institutions.
Amid the ongoing fallout, the Kumtor Gold Company reported declining gold output in 2024, though officials said the slump was temporary. The company missed its 14-ton target in 2023, producing only 13.5 tons, but stated its intention to boost production to 17–18 tons in coming years.
By FCCT Editorial Team freeslots dinogame telegram营销
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