Kyrgyzstan: Manas Contracts Could Be Re-Bid - US Diplomat

Fuel contracts at Manas Transit Center, a US air base near Bishkek, may be subject to a re-bid, if irregularities are uncovered in the way they were secured or awarded, US Under Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affair Robert Blake says.

The US government is committed to "full transparency" and contracts are "always awarded in competitive tenders," Blake said at a news conference in Bishkek on April 15.

A US Congressional investigation is underway into the multi-million dollar contracts for jet fuel supply at Manas, a key US logistics hub for the war effort in Afghanistan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The fuel-supply contract is currently held by Mina Corp., a Gibraltar- and London-registered entity closely linked to Red Star Enterprises Ltd. Since 2007, Mina Corp. has reportedly secured more than $635 million in fuel contracts at Manas.

Red Star, which the Defense Energy Support Center (DESC) describes as a "key contractor providing much of the jet fuel that is so essential to carrying out operations in Operation Enduring Freedom," previously held the contract to supply fuel to Manas.

The investigation, initiated on April 12 by the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will strive to determine whether an improper relationship existed between Red Star Enterprises Ltd., its affiliate Mina Corp. and the family of nominal president Kurmanbek Bakiyev. It will also examine what, if anything, the Pentagon, the State Department and the US Embassy in Bishkek knew about alleged irregularities. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"The contracts are managed by the Pentagon. The United States is committed to full transparency and if there have been irregularities, we are prepared to review, and, if necessary, re-bid the contracts," Blake said.

A spokesman for Red Star/Mina Corp, Nikolai Ushakov, said the companies would cooperate with the investigation and denied any links with members of the Bakiyev family.

Among the Red Star/Mina Corp. affiliates the congressional investigation is likely to seek information on is MinaCapital, a Geneva-based company.

Red Star/Mina's director of operations, Chuck Squires, a former defense attaché at the American Embassy in Bishkek, signed for Mina Corp. contracts with DESC for deliveries of jet fuel to Manas in December 2007, and amendments in January and June 2009.

In July 2007, Anthony Guerne, identified as Mina Corp.'s chief financial officer, signed a similar Manas jet fuel deal. Between June 2006 and October 2008, Guerne was listed as a director of MinaCapital.

Red Star/Mina Corp's spokesman insisted MinaCapital is not connected with Mina Corp. "MinaCapital is connected to business in Africa, such as telecommunications in Sudan. It is a different business and not at all related to Mina Corp.," Nikolai Ushakov told EurasiaNet on April 14. However he did confirm that Mina Corp. and MinaCapital "belong to the same group of companies."

Ushakov is listed on a social networking site as a "financial controller" at a company called "Mina" in Geneva. A phone call to MinaCapital confirmed Ushakov is also an employee of MinaCapital using a Red Star email address.

The Swiss commercial register describes MinaCapital as a company involved with the "provision of management services and advice to companies involved in international trade of raw materials."