The trial of former PM S.Bayar and other six people started at the Ulaanbaatar’s Chingeltei Criminal Court today (15 June) at 09.00 a.m. However, the trial was postponed to 18 June after lawyers and one of the defendants – former finance minister S.Bayartsogt  – simply did not show up in the court because he was away election campaigning in Selenge province.

Therefore, the court has issued a bail of MNT 5 billion to S.Bayartsogt and MNT 10 billion to S.Bayar. In other words, if two MPs failed to pay these very high bail fees, then they will be imprisoned.

Former Prime Ministers S.Bayar and Ch.Saikhanbileg were arrested by the the Independent Authority against Corruption (IAAC) in 2018.

The IAAC is investigating into possible abuse of power by certain government officials during the negotiations for the Oyu Tolgoi agreements, namely the Investment Agreement between the Government of Mongolia and Ivanhoe Mines Mongolia Inc LLC and Ivanhoe Mines Ltd and Rio Tinto International Holdings Limited, signed on October 6, 2009, and the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan, signed on 18 May 2015.

Former Prime Ministers S.Bayar, who was in office in 2007-2009, and Ch.Saikhanbileg, who led the Cabinet in 2014-2016, has thus been put under arrest in the course of the investigation.