Billionaire Gertler hits back at NGOs over Congo investigation into evading US sanctions
Two non-governmental organisations that ran an investigation
into Israeli businessman Dan Gertler say they have been targeted by a
“vexatious” lawsuit in France. The joint investigation claimed mining magnate
Gertler appeared to avoid US sanctions for “corrupt mining and oil deals” in
the Democratic Republic of Congo by using a suspected money laundering network.
Global Witness and the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in
Africa (PPLAAF) said they condemn a criminal complaint filed against them in
France by Afriland First Bank, a Cameroonian financial institution named in the
Undermining Sanctions investigation.
“For two of the principal subjects of our report to threaten
or file criminal complaints against PPLAAF and Global Witness for our
investigation into possible sanctions evasion is beyond parody,” Henri
Thulliez, director of PPLAAF, said in a statement.
Dan Gertler, who is close to former Congolese president
Joseph Kabila, was accused by the two NGOs of having created a number of shell
companies so that he could continue to acquire Congolese mining permits at a
low price.
The report points the finger at the Congolese subsidiary of
Afriland bank, set up in 2006, for accepting tens of millions of US dollars in
cash through accounts in the names of people close to Gertler.
'Stolen' documents?
Eric Moutet, a lawyer acting for Gertler as well as Afriland
bank, told RFI that the documents in question used in the investigation are
fraudulent.
“A complaint has been filed in Paris, France against Global
Witness and PPLAAF about the manner in which the evidence was gathered in this
case,” Moutet told RFI's Sonia Rolley, saying documents used in the
investigation were stolen.
“We have quite a bit of evidence to suggest that the stolen
files have been tampered with,” said Moutet. “So an investigation will be
opened - it is absolutely necessary to shed light on the way in which these
NGOs work."
Billionaire businessman Gertler was hit by US sanctions in
December 2017, accused by the US Treasury of having “amassed his fortune
through hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of opaque and corrupt mining and
oil deals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).”
US authorities said Gertler used his friendship with Kabila
to act as a middleman for mining asset sales in the DRC, and purchased
Congolese assets at knockdown prices before flipping them, selling them back to
the government in Kinshasa at a premium.
'International money laundering network'
The report by Global Witness, a London-based NGO working on
corruption, and PPLAAF, an organisation that supports whistleblowers, explained
how Gertler allegedly circumvents US sanctions.
Gertler began creating a holding company and dozens of other
companies in October 2017, a few weeks before the official announcement of US
sanctions, the report said.
The names of people close to Gertler were used for these
companies, enabling him to continue doing business in the DRC despite the
sanctions, according to the NGOs. In fact, one of the companies signed a
contract with Gecamines, a company managed by the Congolese state, just before
Kabila stepped down as president.
PLAAFF and Global Witness, supported by a number of
investigative journalists, discovered a network of companies, many based in
countries considered as tax havens or secrecy jurisdictions, others domiciled
in Hong Kong, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
Lots of transactions passed through the Congolese subsidiary
of Afriland bank, effectively laundering millions of dollars in cash, according
to the investigation.
The explosive revelations are unlikely to help Gertler and
his business partners, such as Glencore, which is already facing judicial
proceedings in Switzerland on suspicion of corruption in the DRC.
The two NGOs are calling on the Congolese government to
seize or freeze all property belonging to Gertler, and want international
mining companies to stop doing business with him.
Gertler's lawyer Moutet said his client had not sought to
avoid US sanctions, pointing out that Global Witness and PPLAAF have not
formally accused his client of any crime.
Comments
Post a Comment