Resource Matters Calls for Accountability in Gécamines Tax Advances Scandal
Resource Matters, a civil society organization, has issued a press release on November 1, 2023, calling on the Court of Auditors and the courts to broaden their investigation into the disappearance of hundreds of millions of USD in tax advances from Gécamines, a state-owned mining company.
The organization commends the Court of Auditors for revisiting the case of missing Gécamines funds, particularly the 25.5 million USD presumed to have been embezzled by Mr. Albert Yuma, the former Chairman of Gécamines, and Deogratias Mutombo, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Congo, among others.
Resource Matters urges justice to extend its investigation beyond these findings, as the 25 million USD represents only a fraction of the missing tax advances.
Resource Matters emphasizes that Gécamines deposited over 530 million USD into the accounts of the Central Bank of Congo from 2012 to 2020, intended as tax advances.
However, according to the Independent General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), most of these funds never reached the Public Treasury.
Instead, documents reveal that certain tax advances were directly transferred to private companies. Notably, 8 million USD were withdrawn in cash at the BGFIBank counter, and private companies, including the fictitious Sud Oil and Texico (allegedly linked to Albert Yuma and Norbert Nkulu), received substantial sums.
The press release underscores that former finance ministers instructed financial authorities to act as if these sums had indeed reached the Public Treasury.
They ordered the granting of “titles” recognizing the payment of tax advances (“securitization”), even when they hadn’t. The tax authorities reported having “collected” these funds, but the three authorities had never witnessed their arrival.
Resource Matters strongly denounces these illegal practices of systematic securitization and compensation carried out by financial authorities without any evidence that these funds were actually collected by the Public Treasury.
The organization praises the IGF for instructing all financial authorities to suspend compensation, as it not only violates the law but also leaves over 315 million USD unaccounted for.
Resource Matters calls upon the Court of Auditors, the IGF, and the judicial authorities to relentlessly pursue those involved in the misappropriation of tax advances.
They emphasize the need for a public and mediated trial to uncover the truth and deter acts that hinder the country’s development and deprive both the Congolese State and Gécamines of the necessary means to restart their activities.
