Mongolia's Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs Khishgee Nyambaatar promised amid protests over possible coal theft that the country will toughen penalties for abuse of power, local portal ikon.mn reports.

According to the portal, the head of the Mongolian Ministry of Justice addressed a broad draft of changes to the country's Penal Code. He noted that it would take a long time to approve the code, so only the paragraph on "Abuse of Power, Authority and Influence" will be revised within a week.

"So, if an official is accused of corruption and abuse of power, the punishment, the sentence will be given without extenuating circumstances; the official will be disqualified from holding public office for 10-20 years. No one can be found guilty without an investigation," the portal said.

Besides, the Justice Department said law enforcement officials will tentatively name individuals associated with the abuse of power on Tuesday.

A manifestation involving several thousand protesters has been taking place in front of the Government Palace in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar for the past several days amid reports of a major theft of coal. According to various Mongolian media reports, the amount stolen ranges from $1.8 billion to $13 billion. According to the minister of justice, the Mongolian government, through diplomatic channels, has asked the Chinese authorities to get involved in the coal investigation because Mongolia sends about 86 percent of its exports to China and more than half of that volume is coal.