Australian lawyer detained in Mongolia
A 32-year-old Australian lawyer working for a Rio Tinto-controlled company has been detained in Mongolia after being caught up in a corruption investigation.
Sarah Armstrong, the chief legal counsel for SouthGobi Resources, which is majority-owned by Rio Tinto, was stopped from boarding a flight to Hong Kong on Friday.
The Mongolian government is understood to be seeking her help in a case involving allegations of money laundering corruption and bribery.
The claims reportedly relate to senior local officials and hundreds of millions of dollars in mining assets.
Ms Armstrong has not been arrested and still has her passport, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr told Fairfax Media.
"She was stopped at the airport and asked not to leave the country so that she can assist with an investigation," the spokesman said.
"We understand the investigation relates to someone else and there have been no charges laid against Ms Armstrong."
A report by The West Australian said company officials fear for the lawyer's safety and Australian consular officials were working to have her released.
It quoted a source close to the company who said the allegations that Ms Armstrong had knowledge of bribery and tax evasion were baseless.
The source claimed Ms Armstrong was questioned as retaliation for separate allegations of corruption and bribery she made against Mongolian officials months ago.
Ms Armstrong is not in custody.
Sarah Armstrong, the chief legal counsel for SouthGobi Resources, which is majority-owned by Rio Tinto, was stopped from boarding a flight to Hong Kong on Friday.
The Mongolian government is understood to be seeking her help in a case involving allegations of money laundering corruption and bribery.
The claims reportedly relate to senior local officials and hundreds of millions of dollars in mining assets.
Ms Armstrong has not been arrested and still has her passport, a spokesman for Foreign Minister Bob Carr told Fairfax Media.
"She was stopped at the airport and asked not to leave the country so that she can assist with an investigation," the spokesman said.
"We understand the investigation relates to someone else and there have been no charges laid against Ms Armstrong."
A report by The West Australian said company officials fear for the lawyer's safety and Australian consular officials were working to have her released.
It quoted a source close to the company who said the allegations that Ms Armstrong had knowledge of bribery and tax evasion were baseless.
The source claimed Ms Armstrong was questioned as retaliation for separate allegations of corruption and bribery she made against Mongolian officials months ago.
Ms Armstrong is not in custody.
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