By RFPosted on 13-12-2019Modified on 13-12-2019 at 05:13

Christoph Huber is suspected of smuggling minerals during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003. A war crime under Swiss law. One of the NGOs behind the complaint, TRIAL International, hails a strong gesture sent to the entire mining sector, well established in Switzerland.

With our correspondent in Geneva, Jérémie Lanche

According to information from TRIAL International and the Open Society Justice Initiative, Christoph Huber has reportedly traded with RCD-Goma, a powerful armed group accused of war crimes. The company headed by the Swiss businessman is reported to have obtained mining concessions on the territory controlled by the militia. She also provided him with a protection service. Information also confirmed by a UN report, which as early as 2009, claimed that Huber was involved in the coltan trade. But since then, nothing.

Until both NGOs relaunch the case in 2018 before the Swiss courts. The federal public prosecutor officially opened an investigation. Christoph Huber, now living in South Africa, remains silent for the moment. We are still very far from a conviction. But the case casts a light on the practices of some Western companies in the DRC. Especially in Switzerland, the country of the mining giant Glencore, regularly cited in corruption cases. Especially in the DRC.

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