The Prosecutor General's Office of Kyrgyzstan has terminated the investigation of the criminal case against the country's first president Askar Akayev related to the Kumtor Gold Mine. This was reported to TASS on Friday by the press service of the main supervisory body of the republic. Thus, all criminal charges against Akayev were dropped.
"The case against Akayev over Kumtor has been dropped," said a representative of the press service. Earlier, cases on other episodes against the first head of the Kyrgyz state were terminated.
Akayev was elected head of the Kyrgyz SSR in October 1990. In August 1991 he became the first president of the republic which he headed until 2005. Akayev lost power as a result of the so-called tulip revolution in the country. For security reasons, he and his family left Kyrgyzstan and relinquished the authority of the head of state. Since then, the first Kyrgyz president has been living and teaching in Moscow.
Last year and the year before, Akayev visited his home country to testify in the Kumtor case. The deposit, located in northeastern Kyrgyzstan, produces about 15 tons of gold annually. Previously developed by Canadian investors, it was later nationalized.
In April 2005, several criminal cases were initiated against Akayev and members of his family, including a corruption article, all of which have now been suspended or terminated.
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Photo: Sergey Bobylev / TASS
Based on materials from TASS