LONDON – Acacia Mining said on Wednesday an employee and a former employee were detained by Tanzania's anticorruption authority, a week after the gold miner said another staffer had been released on bail after being charged with corruption.
Tanzania's anti-corruption authority was quoted by local media as saying the arrests were part of "ongoing investigation into natural resources exploitation" and "war that the government is waging in the minerals sector", Acacia said in a statement.
Acacia, which is Tanzania's largest gold miner, is locked in a long-running dispute with the government which has accused the company of tax evasion. Acacia has denied any wrongdoing.
The dispute culminated in a $190-billion tax charge against Acacia and an industry-wide ban on the export of raw minerals, matters at the centre of ongoing negotiations between Acacia parent Barrick Gold and the government.
The company said it did not know why or when the two people will be charged.
On Thursday, Acacia said a South African employee in Tanzania pleaded not guilty and was released on bail after being accused of signing cheques on behalf of the company's North Mara mine, including one to a government official on a joint task force.
Tanzanian authorities were not available for immediate comment.