Financial Crime World

Mongolian Parliamentarian Borkhuu Delgersaikhan Convicted of Financial Fraud in Switzerland, Yet Re-elected

Swiss Federal Criminal Court Convicts Mongolian Parliamentarian of Document Fraud

Borkhuu Delgersaikhan, a Mongolian parliamentarian, was convicted of document fraud in a major corruption case by the Swiss Federal Criminal Court. Yet, he remains in his position in the Mongolian parliament, raising concerns among some citizens.

Unfazed by Court Ruling

Delgersaikhan, who sits in the Great State Khural, the Mongolian parliament, seems unfazed by the court ruling 6,875 kilometers away. Some find his behavior troubling, especially given the deterioration of democracy in his country.

> "Borkhuu Delgersaikhan is now behaving as though he is a patriotic and innocent politician."  - Anonymous Mongolian Citizen

Swiss Investigations

Delgersaikhan came under investigation by the Swiss federal prosecutor in 2016 for paying bribes to Sangajav Bayartsogt, Mongolia’s former finance minister, in connection to the tender process for a mining contract.

Payment from Chinese Businessman

In 2007 and 2008, Delgersaikhan, as the boss of the mining company Boldtumur Eruu Vol LLC, received $45 million from the Chinese businessman Xiaoming Li into his personal account at UBS in Zurich. He transferred $5 million of this to Bayartsogt’s account at Credit Suisse.

Swiss Investigations and the “Offshore Leaks”

The affair came to light in 2013 when the “Offshore Leaks” revealed Bayartsogt’s Swiss accounts. Credit Suisse only reported its customers to the Money Laundering Reporting Office in 2016, leading to the opening of a federal investigation against the former minister and his businessman friend.

Censorship Attempts during the Mongolian Elections

Despite these investigations, both men were candidates in the Mongolian parliamentary elections on June 24, 2020. Delgersaikhan tried to hush up the affair by attempting to censor a Gotham City article about the case. In April 2020, he filed an application for provisional measures to prevent SWI swissinfo.ch from publishing the article.

Delgersaikhan’s Failed Attempt to Prevent SWI swissinfo.ch from Publishing the Article

On June 19, 2020, five days before the Mongolian elections, Delgersaikhan appealed the penalty order against him for forgery. The court dismissed his application, recognizing the public interest in the criminal proceedings against the Mongolian politician.

Both men were candidates in the Mongolian parliamentary elections, with Delgersaikhan making every effort to silence the media. On the eve of the elections, an article detailing the charges against him was published on SWI swissinfo.ch in five languages. The following day, Delgersaikhan won re-election as the representative of the province of Ostgobi.

Swiss Judgment and Delgersaikhan’s Press Conference

The Swiss Federal Criminal Court found Delgersaikhan guilty of document fraud in its judgment of June 11, 2021. Delgersaikhan was charged with corruption and money laundering, but the Swiss attorney general holds that these accusations cannot be pursued and must be dropped. Delgersaikhan received a suspended fine of CHF300,000 ($327,000) and was ordered to pay court costs of CHF 31,000, which were deducted from the $1.85 million at UBS. His Swiss lawyer did not respond to questions.

> "Immediately after the publication, as people started to rebel, Delgersaikhan gave a press conference to say that all these stories were lies."  - Anonymous Mongolian Citizen

Penalty Order Against Bayartsogt

The Swiss prosecutor also issued a penalty order against Bayartsogt accusing him of document fraud two weeks before the elections but he did not appeal and was not re-elected.