Officials have been declaring their assets and reporting their income for four years nowe and even though people take the figures with a grain of salt, annual comparisons are often interesting reading. For example, the figures released by the Anti-Corruption Authority reveal that many officials reported a much higher income last year than in 2008.

An exception was the President, whose income decreased by about MNT 1 million. The Speaker earned more but his assets have not grown over the years. He still lists a Mazda car, a one-room apartment and shares in Gobi Company.

Of those who were directly involved in the Oyutolgoi negotiations, former Prime Minister S.Bayar’s income was 20 times more in 2009 than in 2008, reaching MNT109 million and 195 thousand, compared to the MNT 5 million 369.2 thousand of 2008. He owns 10 percent of Sansar Cable TV and Palace LLC. His bank account was up from MNT 94 million 606 thousand in 2008 to MNT 156 million 33 thousand.

Minister for Finance S.Bayartsogt’s income reached MNT 661 million 966.79 thousand in 2009, almost three times more than 2008. But his MNT account decreased to MNT 6 million 934 thousand from MNT 64 million 876.3 thousand of 2008. He own Nido LLC. The Finance Minister’s family income was also down. Furthermore, his company’s funds decreased greatly. In 2008 it had investment of MNT 986 million 564.8 thousand, but in 2009 the amount was down to MNT 2 million.

Minister for Nature and Tourism L.Gansukh’s income on the other hand was up by seven times within a year reaching MNT 378 million 504 thousand compared to MNT 50.8 million in 2008. During the year, some of his companies were closed and he was able to fully pay back the bank loans. Gansukh’s family income was up by MNT 4 million.

Minister for Mineral and Energy D.Zorigt’s income decreased to MNT 9.5 million from MNT 16.96 million of 2008. The family income on the other hand increased by MNT 7 million.