The decision was rendered late Tuesday by the court in Bukavu, capital of the gold-mining province of South Kivu. The three men, who presented themselves during the trial as simple traders, were arrested in early January in a car. They were carrying with them ten gold bars and $400,000 in cash. Gold and silver were seized.
They were sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of $600,000 for “illicit purchases of mineral substances, illegal possession of mineral substances, lack of transparency and traceability in the exercise of mining activities and money laundering”. They were also found guilty of “irregular stay” in the DRC. The head of“illicit exploitation of minerals” was, however, not accepted. Contacted by AFP, their lawyer refused to make a comment.
In the resource-rich province, hundreds of mining companies, mainly Chinese, extract gold without declaring their profits and often without valid permits, according to local authorities. The local government launched a battle in July against mining companies that are not in compliance with Congolese law by declaring the suspension of their activities.
-At the beginning of January, a few hundred people demonstrated in Bukavu against illegal mining, denouncing “a pillage” of the country’s wealth. The east of the DRC has abundant underground reserves of gold, diamonds and minerals used in particular in the manufacture of mobile phones and electric cars.
These riches are at the center of the conflicts that have been tearing the region apart for thirty years and have worsened with the resurgence at the end of 2021 of the M23, an anti-government armed group. Kinshasa accuses Rwanda, which supports the fighters of the “March 23 Movement”, of wanting to take control of the resources.
