From OilPrice:
The Democratic Republic of Congo is considering taking over two oil licenses from an Israeli billionaire who is under U.S. sanctions for corrupt deals, and sell the exploration blocks to another operator, Bloomberg reports, quoting people familiar with the talks.We dropped in on Mr. fast-n-loose a couple weeks ago on a different matter:
Israeli businessman and billionaire Dan Gertler, whose companies hold the licenses for exploring for oil on two blocks in Congo close to the border with Uganda, was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in December 2017.
Gertler “has amassed his fortune through hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” the Treasury said, when it slapped sanctions on the businessman and on dozens of companies he owns or is affiliated with. The sanctioned companies include Oil of DRCongo and two firms it manages, Caprikat Limited and Foxwhelp Limited, which hold the licenses for the two blocks.
“Gertler has used his close friendship with DRC President Joseph Kabila to act as a middleman for mining asset sales in the DRC, requiring some multinational companies to go through Gertler to do business with the Congolese state,” the U.S. Treasury says....MORE
Congo investigates possible money laundering in $222 million loan linked to Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler
And over the years have kept track of Gertler's doings with Glencore:
"World's Largest Commodity Trader Plummets To Three Year Low On Bribery Probe"
Cobalt: "Trouble in the Congo: The Misadventures of Glencore"
"US Seeks Documents From Glencore on Corrupt Intermediaries" (GLEN: L)
Och-Ziff: Dirty Deeds, Not Dirt Cheap (OZM)
"The Inside Story of Glencore's Hidden Dealings in Democratic Republic of the Congo"
