US sanctions Alain Goetz, the powerful Belgian gold dealer for funding DRC insurgency

• The US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned Belgian gold dealer Alain Goetz.
• OFAC has also sanctioned companies linked to Goetz, who are believed to be involved in the illicit movement of gold from the DRC.
• The body says 90% of the DRC’s gold is smuggled to regional states, including Uganda and Rwanda.

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Belgian businessman Alain Goetz and a network of companies tied to him that it accused of being involved in the illicit movement of gold from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and funding insurgents.

Goetz, 57, stands accused of “the illicit movement of gold valued at hundreds of millions of dollars per year from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)”.

In a statement, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said gold worth hundreds of thousands of US dollars, channelled through the African Gold Refinery (AGR) in Uganda and a network of companies all linked to Goetz, was funding turmoil in the DRC.

OFAC said:The illicit movement of gold provides revenue to armed groups that threaten the peace, security and stability of the DRC.

OFAC added that most of the gold was smuggled to international destinations such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and African countries like Uganda and Rwanda.

“More than 90% of DRC gold is smuggled to regional states, including Uganda and Rwanda, where it is then often refined and exported to international markets, particularly the UAE,” OFAC said.

According to OFAC, more than 100 armed militias in the eastern parts of the DRC are funded through the illegal gold trade at the expense of the country’s stability.

“In eastern DRC, where there are approximately 130 active armed groups, the gold trade is a major driver of conflict. A network of armed groups, smugglers and companies generates illicit revenue from the gold industry through forced labour, smuggling, extorting payments from miners. These actors use revenue from gold to finance armed conflict and enrich themselves while depriving the DRC of tax revenue and disregarding the environment and local communities,” read the OFAC statement.

The sanctions mean that all property and interests in property of Goetz and companies linked to him in the US or in possession of or under the control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.

African Gold Refinery – based in Uganda and owned by Goetz since 2016 – has sourced illicit gold from mines in regions of the DRC that are controlled by armed groups, including the Mai-Mai Yakutumba and Raia Mutomboki that are involved in destabilisation activities in South Kivu.

Intelligence gathered by OFAC reveals that the firm has the capacity to refine at least 200 tonnes a year and is one of the biggest refineries in Africa, after refineries in South Africa and Ghana.

Who is Alain Goetz?

In 2020, Alain Goetz and his brother Sylvain were found guilty of money laundering and fraud and handed 18-month suspended jail sentences by a court in Antwerp, Belgium.

In 2019, reports stated that Alain Goetz made R4.8 billion ($300 million) from gold processing in Uganda without paying tax. Because of his close ties to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, he was monikered “the president’s gold dealer”.