Kazakhstani entrepreneur Almas Mynbayev has filed a lawsuit against the government of Guinea at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) of the World Bank. The subject of the dispute is a bauxite mining licence.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE LAWSUIT
According to the Telegram channel "Oil and Gas of Kazakhstan", the lawsuit was filed in November 2025 personally by Almas Mynbayev and the company Nomad Bauxite Corporation Pte Ltd, registered in Singapore. The defendant is the government of Guinea.
In May 2026, the composition of the tribunal was appointed. The chairperson is Lucinda A. Low from the law firm Steptoe Johnson LLP (USA), appointed by agreement of the parties. The arbitrators confirmed are Dominique Hascher (France), appointed by the claimants, and Eduardo Silva Romero (Colombia, France), appointed by the respondent.
The next stage will be the hearing of the lawsuit on its merits.
WHY BAUXITE IS AT ISSUE
Guinea holds almost half of the world's bauxite reserves — the raw material used in the production of aluminium.
It is also noted that in 2021, a military coup took place in the country. Afterwards, the military who came to power announced their intention to develop their own alumina production in order to reduce the export of bauxite ore.
WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT ALMAS MYNBAYEV
Almas Mynbayev is the nephew of the former Minister of Oil and Gas and ex-chairman of KazMunayGas, Sauat Mynbayev, and the son of the late Sayat Mynbayev, who headed the military counterintelligence department of the National Security Committee (NSC).
The 52-year-old entrepreneur ranks 36th in the ranking of the richest Kazakhs according to Forbes Kazakhstan. He controls a number of companies whose names use the Nomad brand, including Nomad Digital Financial Services, Nomad Life and Nomad Insurance.
