Five members of parliament from the Mongolian People’s Party said they had nothing to do with the theft of coal, because of which protests continue in the country.
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Earlier, the Anti-Corruption Committee of Mongolia reported that the ex-president of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga, seven deputies and the governor are connected with the coal theft case in Mongolia. In total, 22 investigations are underway in Mongolia in connection with the theft of coal, 15 people have been arrested, 10 have been detained.
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Reportedly, Shatarbalyn Radnaased, Baagaagiin Battomor, Tsedaviin Sergelen, Tsogt-Ochiryn Anandbazar, Nanzadyn Naranbaatar deny their involvement in the theft of coal.
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“I believe that our names were announced due to the fact that neither I nor my colleagues go to the offices of the leadership, we don’t fawn, we don’t support any people from the leadership. It’s like the saying “A calm camel is easy to tease.” According To my knowledge, our names were announced from the party, and not during the investigations of the prosecutor’s office and the Anti-Corruption Committee,” Shatarbalyn Radnaased said.
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Two other speakers also denied the allegations. Member of Parliament Tsogt-Ochiryn Anandbazar stated that they were not involved in this case. “There is a Russian folk saying, ‘If you wake up a sleeping bear, your house will be destroyed.’ Remember it. You woke him up, and therefore the people who are actually connected with the theft of coal will themselves grieve,” he said.
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In turn, MP Baagaagiin Battomor said that the directors of the Tavan Tolgoi company were behind the theft of coal. He is sure that the names of the deputies were announced in order to calm the protesters.
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Rallies involving several thousand protesters have been taking place in front of the Government Palace in the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar for more than a week amid reports of a massive theft of coal. According to various reports from the Mongolian media, the amount of embezzlement varies from 1.8 to 13 billion dollars.
