https://www.theglobeandmail.com/
Four senior employees of Barrick Gold Corp. have reportedly been arrested in Mali in the latest sign of rising tensions between the Toronto-based mining company and the authoritarian military regime that runs the West African country.
The four Malian employees of Barrick were arrested for alleged financial crimes, according to a report by Reuters, but no details have emerged.
Another news agency, Agence France-Presse, also reported on the weekend that four Barrick employees had been arrested. It said the courts were demanding a high bail payment for their release. The Globe and Mail has asked Barrick for comment on the reported arrests, but a company spokesperson did not reply on the weekend.
Barrick is one of Mali’s biggest investors and gold producers. It says it has invested a total of more than US$10-billion in Mali’s economy, including more than US$1-billion over the past year alone, and it says its mines generate 5 per cent to 10 per cent of Mali’s entire GDP annually.
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