Gertler, originally a diamond trader, amassed his fortune mostly by buying mining assets from the DRC at greatly discounted prices, and selling them at great profit.
Congo’s presidency in February announced an out-of-court agreement with Gertler’s Ventora Development to end a dispute over valuable mining and oil contracts. Under the deal, Ventora agreed to give control of the assets back to the state.The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Gertler and more than 30 of his businesses in December 2017 and June 2018, accusing him of leveraging his friendship with former Congo President Joseph Kabila to secure lucrative mining deals.
Gertler has denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Gertler did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the deal. The agreement, copies of which were handed out to reporters at a press conference in Kinshasa, shows Congo agreed to pay Ventora 240.7 million euros to settle “debts owed to Ventora.” Ventora agreed to pay 57 million euros to Congo’s state mining company Gecamines to settle royalties owed to it.
“Dan Gertler has agreed to return the assets, he has also agreed to end his activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo, we think there is no better positive outcome,” Congo Finance Minister Nicolas Kazadi told reporters.
Stop the mining Modern day Slavery