Undermining Sanctions

A joint investigation by Global Witness and PPLAAF suggests that Dan Gertler evaded US sanctions through a money laundering network spanning the DRC, Europe, and Israel. The report alleges that Gertler used proxy companies to acquire mining permits from Gécamines and that Afriland First Bank played a central role in the evasion scheme. Furthermore, it claims that major mining companies, including Glencore, ERG, and Sicomines, continued to engage in business or make payments to entities linked to Gertler despite the sanctions.

• Dan Gertler allegedly utilized an international money laundering network extending from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Europe and Israel to bypass US sanctions, allowing him to move millions of dollars abroad and maintain his presence in the DRC mining industry.
• In the period preceding the 2018 Congolese elections, two companies suspected of being proxies for Gertler secretly obtained new mining permits from the state-owned company Gécamines.
• Afriland First Bank is identified as a central entity in the potential scheme used by Gertler to evade US sanctions.
• Several large mining firms continued to interact with Gertler or his linked entities after sanctions were imposed; specifically, ERG and Sicomines continued business with a likely linked company, and Glencore continued to pay Gertler millions of euros.
• The DRC possesses the world's largest deposits of cobalt, a mineral essential for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies used to address the climate crisis, yet corruption and mismanagement often divert mining revenues to offshore accounts rather than the national treasury.

APA

Global Witness (2020). Undermining Sanctions. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/undermining-sanctions/

Chicago

Global Witness. Undermining Sanctions. 2020. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/undermining-sanctions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Witness |title=Undermining Sanctions |date=14 October 2020 |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/undermining-sanctions/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalwitness2020undermining, author = {{Global Witness}}, title = {{Undermining Sanctions}}, institution = {Global Witness}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/corruption-and-money-laundering/undermining-sanctions/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }