US Government Considers Easing Sanctions on Billionaire Dan Gertler in Exchange for Congo Exit
The US government is considering easing sanctions on billionaire mining magnate Dan Gertler if he agrees to give up his business operations and assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This move aims to address the tension between Washington’s interest in critical minerals and Gertler’s problematic royalties ownership.
The Treasury Department is prepared to offer limited sanctions relief to Gertler, an Israeli citizen, as an incentive for him to exit Congo entirely.
This includes relinquishing his royalty streams from three strategic mining projects, according to two US officials who requested anonymity due to the ongoing nature of the talks.
These mines are rich in copper and cobalt, essential for electric vehicle batteries and predominantly mined in Congo. While Chinese companies have thrived in the Central African country, Western investors have been hesitant, partly due to a legacy of corruption.
Gertler was sanctioned by the US in 2017 for allegedly engaging in opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in Congo under former President Joseph Kabila.
In the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump granted Gertler a one-year reprieve after repeated requests from the Israeli government, but this was revoked early in the Biden administration.
The US’s willingness to ease sanctions to remove Gertler from these projects reflects its broader strategy to increase investments in critical minerals needed for electric vehicles, sourced from non-Chinese entities. This stance was first reported by The New York Times.
Despite the sanctions, Gertler has never been charged with a crime and denies any wrongdoing. Neither Gertler nor his US-based lawyers responded to requests for comment.
In 2022, Gertler made a deal with Congo to return some of his assets in exchange for lobbying support to lift his US sanctions. However, he retained his lucrative royalties in the world’s largest non-Chinese sources of cobalt.
These royalties have reportedly enriched Gertler by hundreds of millions of dollars from metal projects owned by Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) and Glencore Plc, according to Congo Is Not For Sale, a consortium of Congolese and international anti-corruption groups.
The ongoing royalty payments and the depletion of the mining assets led the US to propose the offer after extensive debate, according to an official familiar with the discussions.
Glencore declined to comment, and ERG did not respond to requests for comment. The Congolese government did not immediately provide a comment when contacted, and President Felix Tshisekedi’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
Jean Claude Mputu, spokesman for Congo Is Not For Sale, criticized the proposed deal, saying, “To pay him again for things he acquired illegally and from which he’s already profited, for me, truly, it’s rewarding corruption. We should not be paying Gertler any more,” and urged the Congolese government to reclaim previous payments.
Mputu, a recipient of a State Department international anti-corruption award, is among several individuals and organizations facing lawsuits from Gertler for their investigations into him. Gertler will be required to drop these cases as part of any sanctions relief.
Additionally, he must undergo an audit of his assets and place half of any proceeds from his royalty sales in escrow, according to the official.
The relief will not be a full lifting of sanctions, allowing the US government the option to reinstate them.
Gertler, who grew up in one of Israel’s most prominent diamond families, first arrived in Congo in 1997 to trade diamonds. He formed a friendship with Kabila, leading to billions of dollars in investments in minerals and oil blocks.
