RE:RE:I think it is bad news Getler is in bed with Kabila, and they are conspiring to bring Glencore down, and reap the profits. This does not look good...
The U.S. Treasury said Gertler has used his close relationship with the country’s president, Joseph Kabila, to amass a fortune through corrupt and opaque deals. Between 2010 and 2012 alone, Congo reportedly lost over $1.36 billion in revenues from the underpricing of mining assets that were sold to offshore companies linked to Gertler, it said.
“Gertler has used his close friendship with DRC President Joseph Kabila to act as a middleman for mining asset sales in the DRC, requiring some multinational companies to go through Gertler to do business with the Congolese state," the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.
Gertler seeks $3bn freezing order on Glencore’s DRC assets after sanctions
Dan Gertler has launched legal action against Glencore, his former partner in the Congo, seeking almost $3bn of royalties he said he is owed. Mr Gertler, who was placed on a US sanctions list in December, has applied to have Glencore’s key copper and cobalt assets in the country frozen, citing its failure to pay the money.
The move is the latest setback for Glencore in the DRC, which is home to half the world’s cobalt used in electric car batteries. It comes just days after Gecamines, the state-owned mining company, launched legal action against Glencore’s DRC subsidiary, accusing it of “draining” money from its joint venture.
Mr Gertler’s company, Ventora Development Sasu, is seeking $695m of royalties and $2.28bn of damages from the Glencore-owned Mutanda Mining and Kamoto Copper Company, Glencore said in a statement.
Glencore said the freezing orders authorise the Kolwezi court in the DRC to “freeze certain bank accounts, tangible moveable assets and intangible moveable assets,” as well as the mining titles up the amount of the freezing order. “Glencore denies that Mutanda and KCC are in breach of their obligations under their respective agreements,” the company said. “Mutanda and KCC will vigorously contest the freezing order and any subsequent proceedings.” The royalties were agreed before the application of sanctions by the US Treasury in December, which said Mr Gertler’s “opaque and corrupt mining and oil” deals in the DRC had cost the impoverished country $1.3bn.