DR Congo justice ministry orders probe into state mining company embezzlement

19/1/2025 7:10

Democratic Republic of Congo has launched a probe into the embezzlement of over $300 million from state miner Gecamines between 2012 and 2020, the

justice ministry said in a statement on Saturday.



Gecamines, which holds minority stakes in several of the world's largest copper and cobalt projects, has long been dogged by accusations of corruption made by non-governmental organisations and opposition politicians.



Congo's public finances watchdog, the General Inspectorate of Finances (IGF), found in 2022 that more than $400 million in tax advances and loans that Gecamines said it paid to the national treasury could not be found.



It said in a report at the time that the missing $413 million were presumed to have been misappropriated and that auditors would continue their investigations.