The Government of Uzbekistan Targets Foreign Investor Oxus Gold Plc With Resource Nationalism

LONDON, May 9, 2011 - The Government of Uzbekistan has distributed false and misleading
statements about one of the country's largest foreign investments, say
lawyers for Oxus Gold PLC (Oxus). On 5 May 2011, unfounded statements were
made to the press that Oxus had violated tax regulations in an attempt to
force the Amantaytau Goldfields A.O. (AGF) joint venture into involuntary
liquidation.

"It is a clear indication of the type of government we are dealing with
in Uzbekistan," said Robert Amsterdam, lawyer to Oxus, a 50% shareholder in
AGF. "Oxus has been resisting the government's demands to liquidate which
have been coupled with an ongoing campaign to fabricate a reason to steal the
last foreign assets in the mining industry in Uzbekistan."

After many years as one of the country's success stories, Oxus has been
targeted by the Government of Uzbekistan, says Amsterdam, "The Government has
already run out of the country other foreign investors in the mining sector."

As a consequence of the illegal conduct of the Uzbek government, Oxus
initiated international arbitration proceedings on 3 March 2011 pursuant to
an investment treaty between the governments of Uzbekistan and the United
Kingdom. As required by the treaty's provisions, Oxus is currently pursuing
good faith efforts for a specified period to resolve the dispute amicably.
However, the Government of Uzbekistan has expressed no interest in even
discussing the issues with Oxus.

The Government of Uzbekistan's campaign against Oxus took a dramatic turn
in March 2011 when it commenced an onerous audit of AGF's financial and
economic activities and cut off all access by Oxus to AGF's operations. This
unwarranted action forced Oxus to declare force majeure in respect of its
obligations towards the joint venture. Meanwhile, the actions of the
Government have compelled virtually all Oxus personnel to flee Uzbekistan.

Oxus will defend itself in international forums to the full extent of the
law, and will continue to advise the international investment community so
that foreign companies evaluating Uzbekistan as a potential investment
destination are able to meaningfully assess the risks of doing business with
a government whose interest in legal measures derives from commodity prices
rather than the rule of law.

CONTACT: James Kimer (jkimer@amperlaw.com, +19173550717)

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