Mali Issues Arrest Warrant For Barrick Gold Ceo

Mali, one of Africas biggest gold producers, has issued an arrest warrant for Barrick Gold CEO Mark Bristow, a warrant document seen on Thursday by Reuters showed, escalating a dispute with the Canadian mining company.

The West African countrys junta-led government is seeking more income from the sector to bolster state revenues as prices of the precious metal rally and has detained mining executives to put pressure on foreign companies operating there.

Four senior local employees of Barrick were briefly detained in September as the government demanded about 500 million in unpaid taxes, and then arrested again last month pending trial.

Bristow told Reuters in early November that the worlds No. 2 gold miner was confident of resolving claims and disputes with authorities before the end of the year.

He is accused of money laundering and violating financial regulations, the warrant document, first reported by Malian media and dated December 4, showed. Its authenticity was confirmed by two sources close to the matter who asked not to be identified.