It’s hard to avoid the dynastic politics of the fuel racket in Kyrgyzstan, home to a crucial logistics hub the U.S. uses for troops in Afghanistan. So when the Defense Department continues to award a fuel contract to a company that few have heard of and isn’t hooked up with the current Krygyz powerbrokers, don’t be surprised if a diplomatic row results.
Yesterday, the Pentagon announced that the Mina Corporation, a Gibraltar-based firm, will again supply fuel to the Air Force at the Manas Transit Center, the giant resupply station for Afghanistan from the north. Mina will receive over $315 million for fuel over the next year, beating out nine other companies, with a potential for renewal in 2011 — the latest move in a deal that’s earned the company almost $3 billion so far. Only Mina’s relationship with the Pentagon has been under congressional investigation for months, since the little-known company — run by a Californian who used to own a burger joint and his Krygyz partner — has received previous Pentagon no-bid contracts for Manas fuel despite its obscurity. Mina also doesn’t reveal who its owners are, adding to the contract’s curiosity.
According to the Washington Post, a forthcoming House report won’t find “wrongdoing” in the Mina contract award. But it’ll chide the Pentagon for being tin-eared about the diplomatic sensibilities. A previous fuel provider to Manas was rumored to be the son of Kyrgyzstan’s recently ousted president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev. Before the political upheaval, Bakiyev came close to kicking the U.S. out of Manas last year under Russian pressure, a fate the U.S. avoided by upping the rent it was willing to pay for the base by about $43 million annually.
Krygyzstan’s new bosses don’t like the Mina deal at all. They want the U.S. military to buy its jet fuel from a joint Kyrgyz-Russian project — as an anti-corruption measure. New President Roza Otunbayeva raised the issue with President Obama directly in September. It’s hard to tell where the shakedowns end.
The Pentagon conceded to the Post that it looks shady to re-up with the secretive Mina. “We are trying to change how it looks. . . . We are not hiding anything extraordinary,” an official told the paper, but claimed that the company is on the level. On Monday, a Post expose reported that competitors think Mina and its apparent affiliate, Red Star Enterprises, must be U.S. front companies, something Mina and Red Star deny. But last year, Mina got a no-bid contract to supply 100 gallons of jet fuel for Manas for reasons the Pentagon keeps classified for “reasons of national security.”
Mina’s been at Manas since 2002, working with Krygyz companies to supply the military with the fuel it needs to keep cargo and troops going into big Afghan bases like Bagram — several of which were run by relatives of top government officials. That hasn’t stopped various Krygyz companies from trying to get the military to sever ties with the firm. Bakiyev put Mina under inquiry. Otunbayeva told the Post, “The corruption is endless. All these dark corners. It is like trying to clean the Augean Stables.”
For its part, the Pentagon is sticking by Mina — though a senior Defense official told the paper it’s “not dismissing [Krygyz] concerns” and might do business at some point with the Russian-Krygyz fuel venture. But it might take another U.S.-Krygyz row over access to Manas before that happens.
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