The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that four senior employees of Barrick Gold have been arrested in Mali in the latest sign of rising tensions between the miner and the authoritarian military regime that runs the West African country. The Globe's Geoffrey York writes that four Malian employees of Barrick were arrested for alleged financial crimes, according to Reuters, but no details have emerged. Another news agency, Agence France-Presse, also reported on the weekend that four Barrick employees had been arrested. It said the courts were demanding a high bail payment for their release. Barrick is one of Mali's biggest investors and gold producers. It says it has invested a total of more than $10-billion (U.S.) in Mali's economy, including more than $1-billion (U.S.) over the past year alone, and it says its mines generate 5 to 10 per cent of Mali's gross domestic product. Mali is a former French colony that traditionally had close economic and military ties with France, but its military junta, which seized power through two coups in 2020 and 2021, has pivoted swiftly to Russia over the past three years, evicting French troops and replacing them with an estimated 1,000 Russian military contractors.