Yesterday, the Congolese authorities arrested several dozen people, including economic operators and soldiers from South Kivu, for illicit gold trafficking to neighboring countries, mainly member countries of the East African Community (EAC). They presented these people to the press in Kinshasa and among them were several high-ranking personalities.
The military intelligence staff in South Kivu arrested 25 economic operators, some of whom are well-known in Bukavu, and members of the Governor’s cabinet, as well as heads of specialized services present at the border such as the General Directorate of Migration (DGM).
Congolese authorities placed military officers and members of the National Intelligence Agency (ANR) behind bars and seized 26 kilograms of gold, equivalent to about a year of mining in South Kivu. By comparison, South Kivu had only exported 34 kilograms of artisanal gold officially in 2022.
Large sums of money in Congolese francs, Ugandan shillings, Rwandan francs, or even dollars were also seized during this operation. For Nicolas Kazadi, the Congolese Minister of Finance, “This is a great fight, a great war parallel to the war that is happening in the east of our country. It is this trafficking that makes it possible to maintain this situation of insecurity in the east of our country”.
Last January, the DRC, and the United Arab Emirates launched a joint venture to fight against illicit gold trafficking in this part of the country. The venture aims to export between fifteen and twenty-five tonnes a year.