UN Experts Accuse Congo Army General of Mining Gold Illegally

UN Experts Accuse Congo Army General of Mining Gold Illegally

14/08/2017

Major General Gabriel Amisi Kumba (Tango Four)

• General alleged to own company dredging gold in eastern river
• Group says $409 million of gold smuggled out of Congo in 2013

A group of United Nations experts said it’s gathered evidence that a sanctioned Congolese military officer owns gold mining operations in the northeast of the country, contravening the country’s mining code.

Tax officials, mine workers and dredge owners told the Group of Experts on the Democratic Republic of the Congo that Major-General Gabriel Amisi Kumba owns dredges that are mining gold on the Awimi River in Tshopo province, the group said in a report published on the UN’s website Sunday. The group also collected testimony that the management of La Conquete, a company allegedly owned by Amisi, is protected by Congo’s military.

Amisi is currently the Congolese armed forces’ commander of the First Defence Zone, an area that includes the capital, Kinshasa. Last year, the U.S. and the European Union imposed travel bans and asset freezes, on Amisi, citing the role of units under his control in lethal crackdowns on demonstrations by Congolese opposition supporters in January 2015 and September 2016.

In November 2012, Amisi was suspended as commander of Congo’s land forces after a previous report by the group of experts accused him of distributing weapons to armed groups and poachers operating in the conflict-ridden east of the country. General Amisi was cleared by the military authorities in July 2014 and appointed to his current position in September the same year.

The group was unable to reach Amisi and Bloomberg wasn’t able to find contact details for him to request comment. General Leon-Richard Kasonga, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, said he hadn’t seen the report and couldn’t comment.

The group’s report also said that it “confirmed almost all artisanally sourced gold in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was exported illegally and underestimated in both value and volume.” The group has made similar claims in previous reports, estimating that during 2013, 98 percent of artisanally produced gold, valued at as much as $409 million, was smuggled out of Congo.

Established in 2004, the group of experts’ members are appointed by the UN secretary-general to gather information about conflict, abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in Congo.

By William Clowes

Bloomberg