DRC: United States reinstates sanctions against Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler
Video press conference by businessman Dan Gertler in Kinshasa, DRC, November 16, 2020. Sonia Rolley / RFI
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
Dan Gertler, close to former President Joseph Kabila, is accused of corruption in the mining sector in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The sanctions on the businessman had been eased just before Donald Trump left the White House.
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On January 15 a license had been granted to Dan Gertler and some of his companies, allowing him to do business again in the United States and to see his assets released.
A provision which was alarmed by the anti-corruption NGO The Sentry.
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See also
: NGOs denounce Trump's easing of sanctions targeting Dan Gertler
This measure, taken by the administration of the former US president, "
was at odds with US foreign policy interests in anti-corruption around the world, including efforts ... to combat corruption and promote stability in the DRC,
”State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
Mr. Gertler and his companies were the subject of suspicion of embezzlement and corruption in the DRC.
Suspected of having signed “opaque and corrupted mining and oil contracts” in the DRC, Dan Gertler was placed in December 2017 under sanctions from the US State Department.
Washington accused him of causing the DRC to lose “$ 1.36 billion in tax revenue” in the 2010s, under the presidency of Joseph Kabila, with whom he was close, says Agence France Presse.
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To read also
: in the DRC, the businessman Dan Gertler counter-attack in the face of accusations of corruption
"
Reinstating the sanctions makes it possible to relaunch the Congolese and American anti-corruption efforts
," the co-founder of The Sentry, John Prendergast, said in a statement.
Sanctioning #DanGertler in 2017 was the right US policy then, & I'm pleased to see it reinstated today.
Corruption is a leading factor in the underdevelopment & marginalization of people in the #DRCongo, & the US should continue to use the tools at its disposal to help stop it.
- Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member (@SenateForeign) March 8, 2021
RFI and several foreign media have published an investigation of suspected circumvention of sanctions by Dan Gertler and setting up
'
a network of alleged laundering in Afriland First Bank CD.
What the latter deny.
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To read also
: RFI's investigation into the Afriland First Bank CD file: DRC: who can withdraw millions from Afriland First Bank?
► To read also:
"It is time to launch audits on Dan Gertler's contracts" in the DRC according to Bourdon Fattal
(with AFP)
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