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Parliament Deepens Oyu Tolgoi Inquiry With Evidence Hearings on Financing and Returns

The inquiry seeks to pin down the true cost of shareholder loans to the state.

Overview

  • Lawmakers continued the temporary oversight committee’s evidentiary hearings on December 10, examining the investment and owners’ agreements, interest rates at signing and afterward, and Mongolia’s projected benefits.
  • Of 109 witnesses summoned, 104 were notified and 84 took part, with sessions structured around loan terms at the time of the agreements, subsequent financing costs, and analyses of national returns.
  • Former official S. Bayartsogt testified that the shareholder loan margin was renegotiated in 2011 to LIBOR+6.5%—now referenced to SOFR—while noting geological challenges and price increases that lifted costs beyond initial plans.
  • The Prosecutor’s Office reported intensive oversight from December 1–5, supervising 50,074 criminal matters and filing 325 indictments, including multiple abuse‑of‑power, narcotics, and hazardous‑chemicals cases transferred to first‑instance courts.
  • The Prime Minister convened a December 9 working group meeting to accelerate the National Anti‑Corruption Programme, directing tighter integrity measures across government and flagging 2026 for a civil‑service discipline push, as Ulaanbaatar advanced EPC+F tender preparations for its metro project with Duhua Engineering.