Trapped in Mongolia to year's end

Australian lawyer Sarah Armstrong has been told that she cannot leave Mongolia until she is cleared of multi million-dollar money laundering and bribery allegations surrounding the Rio Tinto subsidiary that employs her.

The 32-year-old, who has not been charged with any offence, could be trapped in the country until at least the end of the year.

Mongolian officials yesterday revealed serious allegations against the Australian lawyer, confirming that she was being questioned over her knowledge of corruption within SouthGobi Resources, majority-owned by Rio Tinto.

They said the country's anti-corruption police began an investigation into SouthGobi in May and Ms Armstrong would not be allowed to leave the country until it was determined that "she is not involved in money laundering and bribery" alleged to have been carried out by the company.

Ms Armstrong, whose plight was revealed by _The West Australian _on Tuesday, has been under 24-hour protection from bodyguards since she was arrested by the country's anti-corruption police while boarding a flight home to Hong Kong on Friday.

She was interrogated and released without charge a few hours later but has been banned indefinitely from leaving the country.

Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr said yesterday he had not been advised of any allegations against Ms Armstrong. It was a complex matter between the company she worked for, the resources authority of Mongolia and its anti-corruption authority.

But the Mongolian Embassy in Canberra confirmed Ms Armstrong was being questioned over whether she was involved in corruption at SouthGobi.

Sources close to the company told _The West Australian _ that the allegations against her were "baseless" and were being made in retaliation for separate allegations of corruption and bribery she made against Mongolian Government officials a few months earlier.Ms Armstrong's family and friends said yesterday that she was "strong but scared".

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