GAB readers will remember posts in late 2020 and early 2021 recounting damning evidence implicating Mongolian political kingpin S. Batbold in a massive corruption scheme (here, here, and here). Although Batbold fiercely and forcefully denied the allegations to GAB (here), the evidence that corruption during his tenure as Prime Minister netted him tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars seemed overwhelming.
So overwhelming that it prompted the Mongolian government to open a corruption investigation in Mongolia and initiate litigation in the United States to recover New York real estate press reports showed he had bought with corruption proceeds. Nothing came of either, however. Batbold runs the country’s dominant political party, the Mongolian People’s Party, and after a protégé won the June 9, 2021, presidential election, both the Mongolian and New York cases were shut down.
But the evidence did not go away. Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Justice took up what Mongolia had dropped, filing suit to seize the two New York apartments Batbold owns. As the head of the Department’s Criminal Division explained in disclosing the suit:
“Sukhbataar Batbold used his position as prime minister to award lucrative contracts to sell copper concentrates from a Mongolian state controlled mine to entities that were owned and controlled by his known associates or his son. These intermediaries, who had little to no experience in the copper trade, played no part in providing financing for the purchase of the copper concentrates or in arranging the sale or shipment of the commodities. They simply concealed the fact that Batbold and his family were violating Mongolian anti-corruption laws by benefiting from the sale of millions of dollars’ worth of Mongolian natural resources.
“The former prime minister of Mongolia abused his position as prime minister to profit from the sale of his country’s natural resources. He and his family used the proceeds of their corrupt scheme to buy $14 million in high-end real estate in the United States.”
The Department’s Kleptocracy unit is responsible for the case, and consistent with its kleptocracy policy, the Department said it would work to see that the proceeds of whatever property of Batbold is recovered would go to the people of Mongolia, “the people harmed by these acts of corruption and abuse of office.”
Mongolians elect a new parliament June 9. Suppose they might want to ask why it was left to the Department of Justice to do what their government should have done long ago?
GAB | The Global Anticorruption Blog 
It’s astounding, really. This guy seems utterly untouchable. Everyone who dared stand against him in Mongolia? Well, they’re either behind bars or they’ve thrown in the towel and resigned. But here’s the kicker: how on earth does an official, drawing a meager salary, manage to amass such obscene wealth? He’s sitting on a mountain of real estate in Mongolia and abroad, for crying out loud! And get this – he’s even got his fingers in the pie of Mongolia’s Emart. It’s crystal clear what’s going on here: corruption, plain and simple.
and The Mongolian government dropped charges against him due to several factors:
1.Under criminal law, prosecutors possess the authority to represent the government/state, with a dedicated task force within the General Prosecutor’s Office.
2.Unfortunately, he wielded the triad of corruption: money, power, and fame. Leveraging these factors, he exerted influence over the National Security Council of Mongolia, compelling the General Prosecutor’s Office of Mongolia (GPOM) to dismiss the case.
3.Subsequently, a domino effect ensued, leading to the demotion and resignation of individuals implicated in the corruption case, while others faced sentencing by the state judiciary system.
WCYD…