A court in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on Tuesday sentenced three Chinese nationals to seven years in jail for participating in illegal gold mining operations.
The three convicts were also required to pay $600,000 in fines and leave the DRC forever upon completion of their sentences.
“This is an educational trial that should normally serve as a wake-up call to all Chinese nationals who think they can leave China, arrive in Kitutu, Kibe, Lugushwa, Kamituga or Mwenga and behave as if they were in their own room, without even paying the hotel fees,” said Christian Wanduma, a lawyer for several DRC communities that were plaintiffs in the case.
The defendants were found guilty on charges of money laundering and illegal possession of minerals. They reportedly had $400,000 in cash and ten gold bars in their possession when they were arrested.
The court acquitted the three defendants on charges of fraud and illegal mineral extraction due to a lack of evidence. Although the defendants pled guilty to some of the charges against them, they claimed they were honest traders who did not realize they were violating Congolese law with their activities.
As Wanduma’s statement indicated, the DR Congo has a long-running problem with Chinese mining interests failing to secure the necessary permits for gold mines and concealing some of their profits from the government.
In 2021, the DRC suspended six Chinese mining companies in South Kivu, the region where Tuesday’s sentence was handed down, for operating without the necessary permits. In June 2024, DRC officials said at least 547 companies were operating illegally in the area. A month later, the government suspended all mining in South Kivu until the illegal operations could be rooted out.
Another court case has been generating controversy among Congolese of late: 14 of 17 Chinese nationals arrested for running an illegal gold mine and failing to pay $10 million in taxes were released in December, for no obvious reason. The governor of South Kivu said he was “shocked” by their release.
“Our minerals are being plundered by companies that are mostly Chinese-owned and our people remain in extreme poverty, the roads are very dilapidated, we have difficulty accessing drinking water, health care, education, electricity, employment,” civil society activist Nene Bintu said last week while protesting the release of the Chinese suspects.
The DRC signed a $6.2 billion deal with Chinese investors in 2008 to develop copper and cobalt mines in the southeastern Congo. The deal included a pledge from the Chinese investors to build $3 billion in infrastructure with profits from the mines.
Many Congolese feel the mining deal, and a renegotiated version signed by President Felix Tshisekedi last year, has not delivered the benefits promised to the DRC, and the mining projects have been criticized for a lack of transparency.
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