The Democratic Republic of the Congo’s gold and coltan resources have meant that Rwanda “prefers to operate at a profit” and has allowed these businesses to be run by “criminal enterprises,” Khazadi said on March 29. said as a bystander at the African Financial Industry Summit in Lomé, In Rwanda’s view, “blacks and criminals have more to gain” than transparent free trade.
On the other hand, more than 90% of the gold mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is smuggled into countries such as Rwanda and Uganda before being refined and exported to international markets such as the United Arab Emirates, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
In late October, the Democratic Republic of the Congo asked Rwanda’s ambassador, Vincent Karega, to leave the country, citing allegations that Rwanda was supporting M23 rebels in the eastern part of the country. Rwanda denies these claims.