Mongolian Parliamentarian Faces Document Fraud Charges in Swiss Court, Re-elected Amid Controversy
In the midst of the Mongolian parliamentary elections held on June 24, 2020, a Swiss court convicted a Mongolian businessman and parliamentarian, Borkhuu Delgersaikhan, of document fraud regarding a significant corruption case. This legal proceeding had begun long before, with investigations stemming from 2016.
Allegations of Bribes and Document Fraud
The case involving Delgersaikhan revolves around allegations of bribes worth CHF42 million paid to Mongolia’s former finance minister, Sangajav Bayartsogt, in connection with a mining contract tender process. At the time, Borkhuu Delgersaikhan was the head of the mining company Boldtumur Eruu Vol LLC.
- CHF42 million in bribes: Paid to former finance minister Bayartsogt
- Borkhuu Delgersaikhan was head of mining company Boldtumur
- Swiss legal documents revealed the existence of Bayartsogt’s Swiss accounts in 2013
Approximately $5 million of these funds were then paid to Bayartsogt at an account at Credit Suisse. This money trail came to light in 2013 when the “Offshore Leaks” revealed the existence of Bayartsogt’s Swiss accounts. Both Bayartsogt and Delgersaikhan faced criminal charges over the affair, yet they both remained candidates during the Mongolian parliamentary elections.
Legal Proceedings and Controversy
In April 2020, an appeal by Delgersaikhan against a penalty order for forgery caused proceedings to reach the Federal Criminal Court. Delgersaikhan attempted to prevent the publication of information about the case before the elections by making an application to ban SWI swissinfo.ch from publishing a Gotham City article on the proceedings. However, the court rejected this application, recognizing the public interest in the criminal proceedings against the Mongolian politician.
On June 11, 2021, the Federal Criminal Court found Delgersaikhan guilty of document fraud for making his personal account available to receive money that belonged to the company Boldtumur. Swiss prosecutors, however, dropped the charges of corruption and money laundering against Delgersaikhan, and released some of the funds seized earlier.
Repercussions and Political Climate
Repercussions of the event for the political climate and democratic processes in Mongolia are a significant concern.
“Borkhuu Delgersaikhan acts as if he is a patriotic and innocent politician, and the state of Mongolian democracy has deteriorated so badly that I declined to be identified by name,” one Mongolian citizen noted.
The elected representative of the Great State Khural received a suspended fine of CHF300,000 ($327,000) and was ordered to pay CHF 31,000 in court costs. The amount was deducted from the funds seized at UBS. Delgersaikhan’s Swiss lawyer did not comment on the case.
Two weeks before the elections, SWI swissinfo.ch published a report on the proceedings, which was simultaneously translated into five languages. Delgersaikhan responded by denying the allegations at a press conference on the day of the election.