A distorted misinformation campaign followed publications concerning the sanctioned mining magnate
(Paris, 7 August 2025) — The 2024 arbitration award opposing Dan Gertler and two Israeli businessmen, obtained by the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF), quotes of which were published by Bloomberg on 14 July 2025, serves as yet another reminder of the dubious transactions and manoeuvres long associated with Gertler in sustaining his grip on the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) mining sector. In the arbitration, Gertler self-proclaims as “king in Congo” and details how he amassed his fortune in the DRC.
Dan Gertler has been accused of corruption in multiple investigations. He remains sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department in 2017 for “hundreds of millions of dollars” worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in the DRC. These new revelations show the transfer of substantial sums to an individual close to the former president in exchange for the “facilitation” of mining deals. This should raise red flags – if not small ones, then large and unavoidable ones.
Following the Bloomberg publication, a coordinated online campaign emerged on social media platforms, seemingly aimed at rehabilitating Gertler’s public image and undermining ongoing anti-corruption efforts in the DRC and abroad. This campaign attempts to portray the arbitration outcome as evidence of exoneration from corruption. While the arbitrator said he found no evidence of corruption, he clearly states “the case wasn’t meant to establish the legality of any dealings”.
“The campaign to attack civil society and its credibility following the publication is nothing but a surprise,” said Jimmy Kande, PPLAAF’s West Africa Director. “This award is the first time Dan Gertler openly admits he had king-like power in the DRC, and lays out how payments to Congolese institutions and dignitaries gave him access to our natural resources.”
About the arbitration
The arbitration, a civil process where a neutral third party – the arbitrator – resolves a dispute between two parties, was held in Israel and rendered in April 2024. The case centres on a 14-year dispute between Gertler and two Israeli businessmen, brothers Moises and Mendi Gertner, over money that Gertler allegedly owed them for their investments in his business ventures in the DRC. The arbitrator’s mandate was strictly limited to determining whether Dan Gertler had shortchanged the Gertner brothers in their co-investments. It is essential to note that this was a civil proceeding, not a criminal one. In this regard, it did not involve any assessment of the legality of payments made by Gertler.
In the arbitration, Gertler describes his exceptionally close ties to Augustin Katumba Mwanke, former DRC President Joseph Kabila’s top advisor, to whom he declares he made “large payments” and recognises having held shares in Katumba’s name. Gertler says his relationship with the former senior official was based on “trust, on large payments“, adding: “All I had, half of it was his.” The arbitrator states Katumba was a “necessary” intermediary between Gertler and the DRC, leveraging “his connections with local entities in Congo, to ensure that business opportunities for the mining assets in Congo would be referred to first and foremost to Gertler.” Gertler also admitted to making large cash payments to the Congolese Government and the Central Bank.
While Gertler maintains that Katumba was not a government official at the time, it is worth noting that experts identified Katumba as one of the officials paid off by Gertler and mentioned as “public official n.2” in a US Department of Justice settlement with Och-Ziff Capital Management Group.
The arbitrator accepted some of the brothers’ claims and rejected others, ruling that Gertler owed the Gertner brothers approximately USD 85 million, plus interest and certain assets, for payments and shares he had allegedly promised them. According to Israeli newspaper The Marker, this amounts to an astonishing total of USD 248 million. Gertler is attempting to cancel the award in court.
Attacks and fake news
Following Bloomberg’s article, an online campaign emerged that sought to distort the truth about these revelations and launched attacks against anti-corruption activists in the DRC, including the Congo is not for sale coalition (CNPAV). Threats, misinformation and intimidation are regular following investigations concerning Dan Gertler’s empire.
In 2020, a joint investigation by PPLAAF and Global Witness (GW), “Undermining sanctions,” uncovered Gertler allegedly used an international money laundering network to attempt to evade US sanctions, continued doing business in the DRC, moved millions of dollars abroad, and acquired new mining assets despite restrictions. This investigation was made possible due to the disclosures of whistleblowers Gradi Koko and Navy Malela, who, as a consequence, were sentenced to death in the DRC and have been living in exile for the past five years.
This death sentence was part of a wave of retaliatory attacks of rare intensity, including pressure on the whistleblowers’ families, blackmail attempts, massive misinformation campaigns, and no less than 8 SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) procedures brought against PPLAAF by Gertler and others mentioned in the report. Dan Gertler also sued Israeli media Haaretz, two of its journalists, as well as specialist website African Intelligence, and CNPAV member Resource Matters, and its spokesperson Jean-Claude Mputu.
At the time, PPLAAF and GW faced a barrage of social media attacks, including dozens of videos on social platforms falsely accusing them of being “criminal” organisations or tools of foreign powers or billionaires aiming to control Congolese mines. Some content echoed threats made by Gertler’s representatives. GW tracked the attacks to a PR firm with a history of work for former DRC president Joseph Kabila and Congolese state-owned companies.
In 2022, Israeli journalist Avi Amit filed a police complaint against Gertler, alleging that Gertler hired private investigators who illegally entered Amit’s home under false pretences and secretly recorded a conversation with one of his sources. Haaretz reporter Gur Megiddo previously said he received verbal threats from Gertler in an attempt to prevent him from publishing his article.
In response to the revelations, Gertler denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers insisted “There is absolutely no proper basis on which to paint the payments to Mr. Katumba as improper.” However, the consistency of findings exposed by multiple investigations on Gertler reveals a pattern that appears to be anything but standard practices.
PPLAAF joins the Congo is Not for Sale coalition in demanding:
- Mandated Congolese authorities to intensify their efforts to pursue and investigate the payments made to Mr. Katumba Mwanke and other Congolese officials.
- US authorities maintain sanctions until real accountability for these payments is achieved. This requires a complete renegotiation of the Ventora-DRC agreement, which perpetuates Gertler’s enrichment rather than promoting accountability.
- Congolese authorities overturn the death sentence handed down to whistleblowers Gradi Koko and Navy Malela.
This unprecedented evidence allows the Congolese public to see Gertler, in his own words, describing a predatory system in which the country’s natural resources are distributed based on dodgy schemes. This is also an opportunity to glimpse into the mindset of the individuals enjoying Africa’s spoils, many of whom often stay silent and speak through carefully crafted PR messages. The idea that this arbitration clears the way for Gertler’s rehabilitation is misguided. On the contrary, these revelations only reinforce the imperative to maintain sanctions firmly in place.
About PPLAAF
The Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa is a non-governmental organisation established in 2017 to protect whistleblowers, advocate for them, and engage in strategic litigation when their revelations affect the general interests of African citizens.
