Customs chief says it was he who halted Barrick Gold shipment

Santo Domingo.- Customs Agency director Fernando Fernandez on Thursday affirmed that it was he who halted a shipment by Barrick Gold at Las Americas International airport Wednesday, and not on instructions from president Danilo Medina.

“I proceeded according to Dominican law, for now until the shipments are verified, there’ll be no shipments, not only from Barrick, but from all mining companies,” the official said on local TV.

He said Customs inspectors halted the export of the gold after the miner’s executives refused to allow the verification of the shipment

The surprising measure has stoked the row between the Barrick Gold Pueblo Viejo Corp. and the government, after medina issued an ultimatum to the Canadian miner to renegotiate the extraction contract.