Mongolian Ex-President Sentenced to Prison
A court in Mongolia sentenced former President Enkhbayar Nambar to four years in prison on corruption charges in a move that could add to political uncertainty in the resource-rich nation.
The sentence, handed down Thursday after a three-day trial in the capital Ulan Bator, stems from allegations by the government's anticorruption agency that Mr. Enkhbayar enriched himself during his decade in the presidency and other top offices. The jailing of one of Mongolia's most powerful but most divisive politicians has left analysts puzzling over the possible impact on policy in the mining-intensive nation of 2.8 million.
Mr. Enkhbayar, 55 years old, has maintained his innocence of the charges, including theft of television equipment meant for a monastery, that he says were trumped up by rival politicians to derail his political comeback. Mr. Enkhbayar will remain jailed pending an appeal, according to family members who valued cash and property he was ordered to forfeit at around $1 million.
Mongolian antigraft inspectors say their efforts to prosecute Mr. Enkhbayar date to 2011 and reflect a straightforward desire to improve the country's poor corruption record.
The verdict is important because a party led by the former president is key to holding together a coalition that is set to run Mongolia's parliament during a period when politicians are considering changes to mine and investment policies.
The case disqualified Mr. Enkhbayar as a candidate for June's parliamentary election, which he hoped would provide a launchpad for his return to national politics after losing a 2009 presidential election. But a number of his political allies won enough votes in June to be invited into a coalition that would form a government with the Democratic Party, which won the most votes but not a majority.
The Democratic Party, which produced the current President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, last month said it intended to nominate its party chairman, Norov Altanhuyag, to be the next prime minister of Mongolia's 76-member parliament, succeeding Sukhbaatar Batbold.
Politicians were huddling Friday to consider how the court verdict might affect coalition unity—even before the alliance has established who will oversee different policy portfolios once parliament actually convenes.
Sumati Luvsandendev, director of Ulan Bator-based research center Sant Maral Foundation, on Friday described the verdict as a "test for the coalition" but possibly not necessarily one that will prompt Mr. Enkhbayar's allies to torpedo the alliance by exiting. "It is quite clear these people are interested in working in the coalition," said Mr. Sumati.
The current coalition makeup has analysts bracing for a possible shift in Mongolia's governing philosophy toward "resource nationalism," or limits on foreign participation in the country's coal, copper and other mining operations. Mongolia has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in recent years, with foreign investment representing over half its gross domestic product.
Write to James T. Areddy at james.areddy@wsj.com
The sentence, handed down Thursday after a three-day trial in the capital Ulan Bator, stems from allegations by the government's anticorruption agency that Mr. Enkhbayar enriched himself during his decade in the presidency and other top offices. The jailing of one of Mongolia's most powerful but most divisive politicians has left analysts puzzling over the possible impact on policy in the mining-intensive nation of 2.8 million.
Mr. Enkhbayar, 55 years old, has maintained his innocence of the charges, including theft of television equipment meant for a monastery, that he says were trumped up by rival politicians to derail his political comeback. Mr. Enkhbayar will remain jailed pending an appeal, according to family members who valued cash and property he was ordered to forfeit at around $1 million.
Mongolian antigraft inspectors say their efforts to prosecute Mr. Enkhbayar date to 2011 and reflect a straightforward desire to improve the country's poor corruption record.
The verdict is important because a party led by the former president is key to holding together a coalition that is set to run Mongolia's parliament during a period when politicians are considering changes to mine and investment policies.
The case disqualified Mr. Enkhbayar as a candidate for June's parliamentary election, which he hoped would provide a launchpad for his return to national politics after losing a 2009 presidential election. But a number of his political allies won enough votes in June to be invited into a coalition that would form a government with the Democratic Party, which won the most votes but not a majority.
The Democratic Party, which produced the current President Tsakhia Elbegdorj, last month said it intended to nominate its party chairman, Norov Altanhuyag, to be the next prime minister of Mongolia's 76-member parliament, succeeding Sukhbaatar Batbold.
Politicians were huddling Friday to consider how the court verdict might affect coalition unity—even before the alliance has established who will oversee different policy portfolios once parliament actually convenes.
Sumati Luvsandendev, director of Ulan Bator-based research center Sant Maral Foundation, on Friday described the verdict as a "test for the coalition" but possibly not necessarily one that will prompt Mr. Enkhbayar's allies to torpedo the alliance by exiting. "It is quite clear these people are interested in working in the coalition," said Mr. Sumati.
The current coalition makeup has analysts bracing for a possible shift in Mongolia's governing philosophy toward "resource nationalism," or limits on foreign participation in the country's coal, copper and other mining operations. Mongolia has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in recent years, with foreign investment representing over half its gross domestic product.
Write to James T. Areddy at james.areddy@wsj.com
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