Mongolian chill ties Aussie's tongue
SARAH Armstrong looked pale and tired when she entered the foyer of the new Monnis Building in the freezing Mongolian capital Ulan Bator yesterday morning.
Rugged up in black, knee-length ski jacket to ward off the -5 degree chill outside, she was accompanied by a hulking bodyguard -- one of four hired by her company, the Rio Tinto-owned coal miner SouthGobi Sands.
The 32-year-old Australian lawyer has been caught up in a corruption scandal and banned from leaving the country.
The former head of the country's mining authority D Bakthuyag has been being investigated for bribe taking, money laundering and tax evasion.
Rumours are swirling around the capital that millions of dollars in cash was stashed in his house and bank account but the Independent Authority Against Corruption is remaining tight lipped.
SouthGobi's offices were raided in May and the IAAC has been investigating the miner including the way it obtained a clutch of licences.
" I can't talk," Ms Armstrong told The Australian after she had greeted a couple of former workmates in the building's downstairs coffee shop.
" I am sorry, I really can't talk."
Friend Luke Dean, who will fly from Melbourne and land in Mongolia tomorrow to offer support, said Ms Armstrong has been trying to keep busy with work.
"She's sounding a bit tired, to be honest," he said. "I think it is starting to take its toll a bit, so it'll be good when I get over there."
He said Ms Armstrong has not asked for him to bring anything, but he would take her favourite snack -- salt and vinegar chips -- to help her relax.
It is understood that Ms Armstrong has also been moved from her regular part-time apartment in the city's Japan Tower complex. She was pulled in for a second round for questioning by the IAAC at short notice last Friday night but was not permitted to have the Australian Consul-General David Lawson nor her own company-appointed lawyer John Viverito present.
In a statement released in Canberra, Mongolian attache Hantulga Galaazagraa said Ms Armstrong's had been prevented from leaving until clarification she is not involved in this case.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said consul-general has been in touch with Ms Armstrong every day and had made the strongest representations to the Mongolian Department of Foreign Affairs.
Senator Carr met with Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis on Monday where the case was raised.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: JOE KELLY, MARK SCHLIEBS
Rugged up in black, knee-length ski jacket to ward off the -5 degree chill outside, she was accompanied by a hulking bodyguard -- one of four hired by her company, the Rio Tinto-owned coal miner SouthGobi Sands.
The 32-year-old Australian lawyer has been caught up in a corruption scandal and banned from leaving the country.
The former head of the country's mining authority D Bakthuyag has been being investigated for bribe taking, money laundering and tax evasion.
Rumours are swirling around the capital that millions of dollars in cash was stashed in his house and bank account but the Independent Authority Against Corruption is remaining tight lipped.
SouthGobi's offices were raided in May and the IAAC has been investigating the miner including the way it obtained a clutch of licences.
" I can't talk," Ms Armstrong told The Australian after she had greeted a couple of former workmates in the building's downstairs coffee shop.
" I am sorry, I really can't talk."
Friend Luke Dean, who will fly from Melbourne and land in Mongolia tomorrow to offer support, said Ms Armstrong has been trying to keep busy with work.
"She's sounding a bit tired, to be honest," he said. "I think it is starting to take its toll a bit, so it'll be good when I get over there."
He said Ms Armstrong has not asked for him to bring anything, but he would take her favourite snack -- salt and vinegar chips -- to help her relax.
It is understood that Ms Armstrong has also been moved from her regular part-time apartment in the city's Japan Tower complex. She was pulled in for a second round for questioning by the IAAC at short notice last Friday night but was not permitted to have the Australian Consul-General David Lawson nor her own company-appointed lawyer John Viverito present.
In a statement released in Canberra, Mongolian attache Hantulga Galaazagraa said Ms Armstrong's had been prevented from leaving until clarification she is not involved in this case.
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said consul-general has been in touch with Ms Armstrong every day and had made the strongest representations to the Mongolian Department of Foreign Affairs.
Senator Carr met with Rio Tinto chairman Jan du Plessis on Monday where the case was raised.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING: JOE KELLY, MARK SCHLIEBS
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