TORONTO - Centerra Gold Inc. says it is suing the man named Tuesday by the government of the Kyrgyz Republic as general manager of the Kumtor gold mine.

In a news release, the Toronto-based miner says it is alleging in Ontario Superior Court that Tengiz Bolturuk, a former member of its board of directors, breached his fiduciary duties to the company by co-operating in the government's seizure of the mine last weekend.

It says Bolturuk was nominated to the Centerra board in December by the Kyrgyz state-owned company Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, which holds a 26 per cent stake in Centerra, but he resigned on Monday.

It says it wants the court to stop Bolturuk from accepting a management role at the mine, as well as engaging in “further breaches of fiduciary and confidentiality duties.”

Centerra claims that Bolturuk, a dual Canadian and Kyrgyz citizen, discussed plans to seize control of the Kumtor Mine with the Kyrgyz government and others. It also charges that, prior to the seizure of the mine, Kyrgyzaltyn JSC tried to divert US$29 million to an unauthorized bank account using a forged payment instruction sent to a third party.

On Tuesday, the Kyrgyz Republic issued a news release saying it took control of the Kumtor mine because of the “abdication of its fundamental duties of care” by Centerra, charging that it had suspended deliveries of materials needed to operate the mine and had disabled “critical sensors” used to monitor the stability of the mine and the movement of nearby glaciers.