La Prensa | 25 March 2026
BHMB mining sues Nicaragua for $80 million, citing illegal expropriation of gold facility
Investors in BHMB Mining have launched legal proceedings in the United States against the Nicaraguan state, seeking more than $80 million in damages. The move comes nearly six months after what the company describes as the arbitrary seizure of its gold-processing facility, according to sources within the U.S.-based firm.
According to the owners, effective control of the facilities was subsequently handed over by authorities to Chinese companies Zhong Fu Development and Santa Rita Mining. The company’s legal representative, Baruch Rapaport, told La Prensa that the claim centers on “a direct and unlawful expropriation, without compensation, along with violations of fundamental principles of international investment law.”
The case is expected to be formally filed in the coming days with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a World Bank body headquartered in Washington, D.C., after Nicaraguan authorities failed to respond during the so-called “cooling-off” period—a stage intended to allow for an amicable resolution between the parties. The expropriated company is owned by BHMB Inc., a U.S.- and U.K.-backed firm incorporated in Florida.
Legal grounds for the claim
Rapaport explained that the legal basis for the ICSID action lies in protections afforded to BHMB Mining’s investments under the Dominican Republic–Central America–United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), as well as the bilateral investment treaty between the United Kingdom and Nicaragua.
Affected investors argue that one of the most serious breaches was the state’s obligation to provide full protection and security. Authorities, they say, not only failed to prevent the damage but were directly involved in it.
The expropriation has also drawn attention in Washington. Richard Grenell, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, warned of potential sanctions on Nicaragua’s mining sector over the seizure, previously calling it “outrageous.”
Nicaragua recorded $1.96 billion in gold exports in 2025, with the Ortega-Murillo family holding direct interests in the sector. In recent years, the government has granted numerous mining concessions to a web of little-known Chinese companies while maintaining control through corporate structures that allow it to profit from both artisanal miners and formal enterprises, according to investigations by La Prensa.
In February, the Attorney General’s Office issued a statement asserting that legal certainty remained intact, dismissing what it described as “malicious publications” regarding the exploitation of natural resources in the mining sector.
Meanwhile, the Fundación del Río has reported that 8.5 percent of Nicaragua’s territory has been granted in concession to 15 Chinese mining companies, including Zhong Fu Development, which holds ten licenses, and Santa Rita Mining.
Mounting controversy
In March, investment advisor Laureano Ortega Murillo—son of the country’s ruling couple and sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control—met with British billionaire and politician Nick Candy, majority shareholder of Metals Exploration, which acquired the La India mine project last year. The meeting appeared aimed at restoring confidence in the sector.
The encounter sparked controversy in the United Kingdom, where Rosario Murillo and other Nicaraguan officials have been sanctioned for undermining democracy, repressing civil society and opposition groups, and committing human rights violations.
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How the takeover unfolded
According to La Prensa, the state’s coordination with Chinese companies is evident in the BHMB case. The dispute began on August 12, 2025, when officials from the Ministry of Energy and Mines ordered the plant’s manager to halt operations. Despite repeated requests, the company says it never received clarification. Ten days later, workers from the two Chinese firms arrived at the site.
On August 25, authorities formally notified the company of the permanent shutdown and intervention of its gold-processing assets. On September 9, state representatives and Chinese company agents allegedly broke locks and gates and, with the assistance of armed individuals, removed security personnel—a sequence of events captured by the plant’s surveillance cameras.
Rapaport cited a lack of due process and identified those involved in the takeover as attorney Aníbal Vladimir Matus Buitrago and Chinese nationals Feiwu Bian and Chunqing Sun, who appear in video footage leading the operation.
Official records published in Nicaragua’s government gazette on September 30, 2025, show that Matus Buitrago works for Zhong Fu, represented by Bian, while Sun serves as legal representative for Santa Rita Mining. All three are also members of the Nicaragua-China Chamber of Industry and Commerce, a nonprofit organization created to promote Chinese investment in the country—efforts spearheaded by Laureano Ortega Murillo since diplomatic ties with China were restored in December 2021.
Rapaport warned that the case reflects a broader pattern that undermines investor confidence. “When an asset belonging to Western investors is expropriated and effectively transferred to other actors without due legal process or compensation, investor trust is directly eroded,” he said.
“Nicaragua has committed multiple violations of its obligations under international investment law and applicable treaties,” he added.
Broader economic impact
On December 12, 2025, following a year-long investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, the Office of the United States Trade Representative concluded that Nicaragua’s actions—including the expropriation of assets belonging to U.S. citizens and companies—were unreasonable and harmful to U.S. trade. It subsequently imposed a phased tariff on goods not covered by CAFTA-DR: 0% in 2026, rising to 10% in 2027 and 15% in 2028.
In addition to the seizure of the processing plant, La Prensa reported on March 14 that the government granted a 2,500-hectare concession known as La Guadalupana, located in San Juan de Río Coco, Madriz, to the Chinese firm Palacagüina Mining.
The concession was awarded despite a 2020 certification by sanctioned Energy Minister Salvador Mansell recognizing BHMB Mining’s rights to the same property. Palacagüina Mining is represented by Chinese national Minhui Sun, who authorized attorney Matus Buitrago—the same individual involved in the September 2025 takeover—to submit documentation to the state.
