Mali has issued an arrest warrant for Barrick (NYSE: GOLD, TSX: ABX) CEO Mark Bristow, Reuters reported on Thursday.
Bristow is accused of money laundering and violating financial regulations, according to a warrant document dated December 2, first reported by Malian media and reviewed by Reuters.
The report follows the arrest of four employees from Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto mining complex in the West African country.
Barrick stated that the company “will not be commenting” on the reported arrest warrant.
The detention of foreign officials is becoming a pattern in Mali, as the government seeks to extract more revenue from the mining sector.
According to sources cited by Reuters, Mali is seeking approximately $500 million in unpaid taxes from Barrick.
Previously, Bristow said that since September 30, the company has been working to finalize a memorandum of agreement with the government.
The agreement would outline their partnership going forward, including details on “the state’s share of the economic benefits generated by the complex” and “the legal framework under which this would be managed.”
“Our attempts to find a mutually acceptable resolution have so far been unsuccessful, but we remain committed to engaging with the government to resolve all claims levied against the company and its employees and to secure the early release of our unjustly imprisoned colleagues,” Bristow said.
Other four Barrick employees were detained in October.
Last month, Resolute Mining (ASX, LON: RSG) CEO Terry Holohan and two employees were released after the gold miner agreed to pay around $160 million to settle a tax dispute with the Malian government.
Mali has been under military rule since 2020, when interim leader Colonel Assimi Goita ousted the elected president, citing failures to repel Islamist insurgents. Since then, mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group have been deployed, while European forces and a United Nations peacekeeping mission were forced to withdraw.
Hit by sanctions and cut off from Western aid, Malian authorities have pursued both Resolute Mining and Barrick Gold over allegedly unpaid taxes.
Shares of Barrick fell 2.45% by 10:50 a.m. EDT. The Canadian miner currently has a market capitalization of C$41.6 billion ($29.6 billion).