(3 minutes read)
· The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may have lost nearly US$4 billion as a result of dubious mining and oil contracts signed with Israeli businessman Dan Gertler, according to a coalition of NGOs known as Africa Progress Panel
· The NGOs sources said that between 2003 and 2021, the DRC lost US$1.95 billion in revenue. It warns that if the situation continued and nothing was done to stop this hemorrhage, an additional US$1.76 billion by way of royalties could escape the state coffers between 2021 and 2039
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) may have lost nearly US$4 billion as a result of dubious mining and oil contracts signed with Israeli businessman Dan Gertler, according to a coalition of NGOs known as Africa Progress Panel. The NGOs sources said that between 2003 and 2021, the DRC lost US$1.95 billion in revenue. It warns that if the situation continued and nothing was done to stop this hemorrhage, an additional US$1.76 billion by way of royalties could escape the state coffers between 2021 and 2039.
Sources say country could be deprived of at least US $3.71 billion as a result of these dubious contracts with Dan Gertler, a leading figure in the Congolese mining sector, who is a close friend of former president Joseph Kabila. Kabila was in power from 2001 to 2019. Dan Gertler acted as a middle man in concluding the country’s biggest contracts for nearly 20 years.
Sources revealed that agreements with Mr. Gertler on five highly prized copper and cobalt concessions had deprived the DRC of US$1.36 billion. In March, the United States reinstated sanctions against the billionaire, decided in December 2017 by the US State Department, but which had been eased just before Donald Trump left the White House. The new president, Felix Tshisekedi, so far had not yet taken any steps to investigate Mr. Gertler’s mining transactions, according to some sources. Analysts feel that the country could bring to the fore billions of dollars.
