Congo prosecutors probe Dan Gertler loan to state mining company
Congolese prosecutors are investigating a 200-million-euro
($222 million) line of credit issued to state mining company Gecamines by a
company owned by Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, who is under U.S. sanctions, Gecamines
said on Monday.
Two sources at Democratic Republic of Congo's prosecutor's
office and two at the presidency, speaking on condition of anonymity, told
Reuters the investigation was focused on possible money laundering and fraud
related to a loan issued in October 2017 by Gertler's Fleurette Mumi, which has
since been renamed Ventora Development.
In a statement, Gecamines interim director-general Jacques
Kamenga confirmed that a company official was questioned by prosecutors last
week, without naming the person. Kamenga denied any wrongdoing and said
Gecamines provided investigators with all requested documents.
Gertler's spokesperson referred Reuters to a statement by
Ventora Development, which said it issued the loan and was simply trying to recover
money it was owed by Gecamines.
Kamenga could not be immediately reached by Reuters for
comment.
Both Gecamines and Gertler have faced corruption allegations
from watchdog groups over the past decade related to the sale of mining assets
in Congo, which, despite copious mineral resources, is one of the world's
poorest countries.
According to a 2013 report by the Africa Progress Panel,
which was headed by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Congo lost out on
$1.36 billion in potential revenue between 2010 and 2012 in five mining deals
involving Gecamines and Gertler.
The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Gertler and more than 30 of his
businesses in December 2017 and June 2018, accusing him of using his friendship
with former Congo President Joseph Kabila to secure sweetheart mining deals.
Gertler, Kabila and Gecamines have denied all allegations of
impropriety.
Gecamines' Kamenga said the company ended up borrowing 128
million euros from Fleurette Mumi's line of credit in October 2017, two months
before the U.S. imposed sanctions. Kamenga said Gecamines used the money to pay
tax advances in Congo.
Gertler's Amsterdam-based Fleurette Group was a joint
venture partner of Gecamines in one Congo copper mine and said in 2014 that it
lent Gecamines $196 million in 2013 to purchase two other copper mines.
Because of the U.S. sanctions against Gertler, Gecamines was
advised by its lawyers not to reimburse the loan, Kamenga said in his statement
on Monday.
Ventora Development sued Gecamines in October for repayment
of the loan and a Congolese court ordered Gecamines last month to pay nearly
152 million euros of the loan principal and interest, Kamenga and Ventora said.
Gecamines has appealed the ruling and not yet made any payment, Kamenga added.
On Dec. 17, Kamenga and another Gecamines official were
prevented by immigration authorities from boarding a flight in the Congolese
capital Kinshasa and told they were banned from traveling, Kamenga said.
Two days later, they were summoned by the prosecutor's
office in Kinshasa, where a Gecamines official was questioned about the loan,
Kamenga said.
The four sources at the prosecutor's office and the
presidency said that the chairman of the Gecamines board, Albert Yuma, had been
also banned from leaving the country.
Yuma is a close ally of Kabila, who left office in January
after 18 years as president. Reached for comment, Yuma referred Reuters to
Kamenga's statement.
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