DRC / France: Perenco Banking Operations Benefit Former President Kabila’s Inner Circle

France’s second-largest oil company suspected of making suspicious transfers when Joseph Kabila was DRC’s president

(Paris, July 20, 2023) – Relying on data from Congo Hold-Up, Mediapart and Investigate Europe published articles showing that Perenco transferred nearly $1.3 million to companies linked to former President Joseph Kabila’s inner circle between 2014 and 2015, the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) said today.

Congo Hold-up is the largest leak of sensitive documents from the African continent. It has led to major investigations and reports since its initial publication in November 2021. The documents demonstrate how BGFIBank, a private bank, was used to plunder the Democratic Republic of Congo’s public funds and natural resources, largely for the enrichment of former President Joseph Kabila’s entourage.

The Mediapart and Investigate Europe articles published today show that Perenco made fourteen transfers between 2014 and 2015 to companies close to Joseph Kabila, including Etablissement Kuntuala, an opaque company owned by the Wan family. Its director is the patriarch, Belgian-Congolese citizen Alain Wan, and its beneficial owner is his mother, then aged 78. Alain Wan and his childhood friend, Marc Piedboeuf, a Belgian citizen, are part of Joseph Kabila’s closest business circle. According to the two organizations, Perenco denied having paid funds to this company.

The two businessmen also have interests in MW Afritec, which between 2014 and 2015 received transfers from Perenco’s local subsidiary. The French company confirmed that it had a commercial relationship with MW Afritec, but only until 2010.

Perenco is currently the subject of several investigations in France for the corruption of public officials by the Parquet national financier, the French authority tasked with prosecuting major financial crimes.

PPLAAF is a non-governmental organization created in 2017 to protect and defend whistleblowers. It also engages in strategic litigation on their behalf when their disclosures speak to the public interest of African citizens.