Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Jewish Business News

Business

UK fraud office probes Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler over mining deals, Report

Democratic Republic of the Congo president Joseph Kabila greets Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler

 

The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is investigating Israeli mining and diamond billionaire Dan Gertler over the acquisition of copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Bloomberg and FT reports.

Gertler is under investigated along with four former Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) executives,  a Kazakh-based mining company which withdrew from the London Stock Exchange in 2013 amid allegations of corruption.

Please help us out :
Will you offer us a hand? Every gift, regardless of size, fuels our future.
Your critical contribution enables us to maintain our independence from shareholders or wealthy owners, allowing us to keep up reporting without bias. It means we can continue to make Jewish Business News available to everyone.
You can support us for as little as $1 via PayPal at office@jewishbusinessnews.com.
Thank you.

Congo is world’s largest lair of copper and cobalt. Its mineral potential is estimated at $24.5 trillion(£16.9tn) – the size of the US and European GDPs combined.

According to Bloomberg’s sources the SFO has asked the Congolese authorities to provide banking and business records relating to four Congo-registered companies in its investigation into ENRC and nine people including Dan Gertler.

The SFO’s probe, according to media reports, centers on three sets of transactions through which the Kazakh ENRC, then still listed on the London Stock Exchange, acquired five mining projects in Congo between 2010 and 2012.

The SFO claim that the Congolese state sold mining rights to Dan Gertler, a close friend of president Joseph Kabila for a small sum, then he sold the rights to the ENRC, for a sky-high price.

The Financial Times citing commentators say that these transactions “deprived a poor African nation of revenue to the benefit of Mr Gertler”.

The deals may have violated UK laws including the 2010 Bribery Act and the 2006 Fraud Act – offenses punishable by up to 10 years in prison or an unlimited fine.

The SFO told  Bloomberg that it does not comment on a continuing investigation.

Gertler’s Fleurette Group said in a statement: “Mr. Gertler has always made it clear that his business dealings in the DRC (Congo) are entirely proper and appropriate. That remains the case. Beyond that, he is not able to comment on allegedly leaked documents.”

 

Newsletter



Advertisement

You May Also Like

World News

In the 15th Nov 2015 edition of Israel’s good news, the highlights include:   ·         A new Israeli treatment brings hope to relapsed leukemia...

Entertainment

The Movie The Professional is what made Natalie Portman a Lolita.

Travel

After two decades without a rating system in Israel, at the end of 2012 an international tender for hotel rating was published.  Invited to place bids...

VC, Investments

You may not become a millionaire, but there is a lot to learn from George Soros.