YouTube: Bloomberg's @Vicky_Feng_ made a short documentary of our #CongoHoldUp work on China's Sicomines, the mysterious Congo Construction Company, & the Kabila family. @WTBClowes @Mediapart @PPLAAF @EICnetwork

We've just re-filed this with more context & extensive comment from Cooperative des Artisanaux Miniers du Congo, or CDMC, one of the entities sanctioned for allegedly supporting conflict thru tantalum & tin sales from Rubaya.

(from last week) New York-based Symbion Power is proposing a $700 million, 140-megawatt gas-to-electricity power plant & transmission lines from Lake Kivu all the way to Bunia if the Congo & Rwanda can implement their US-backed peace agreement

The US sanctioned an armed group (Pareco) and two Hong Kong-based firms (Star Dragon & East Rise) linked to violence & illegal mining in Congo around Rubaya @Magdalena_971

Monuments depicting the brutal rule of King Leopold II over the Congolese people are still common across the Belgian capital, five years after a spurt of Black Lives Matter activism @saim_s_saeed

Congo's mines minister signed pact w/ US corp. KoBold Metals (backed by famous American billionaires) to support its plan to take over Manono lithium project from AVZ, digitize & make public mining data @ Tervuren, & get 1,600 km2 of exploration permits

A US consortium involving ex-special forces personnel is seeking to acquire Chemaf Resources, a copper and cobalt producer that has become a symbol of the growing competition for mineral deals between the US and China in Congo @megacontango.

China’s CMOC Group produced more cobalt at its two mines in Congo in the first half of this year, despite the African nation’s ban on exports @annieLee23 .

It's the first time we've ever had Gertler speak openly about Katumba's role in his businesses. Gertler's lawyers say Katumba was no longer an official advisor to Kabila at the time & Kabila says he had nothing to do with the partnership.

Gertler has applied to cancel the arbitration decision, which would force him to pay the Gertner brothers $85 million plus years of interest & a few diamond assets. The Gertners asked for $1.6b.

The arbitrator in the civil dispute held in Israel said in the April 2024 decision that the case wasn’t meant to establish the legality of any dealings, and that no convincing evidence was presented to him of bribes or unfair or improper payments.

The 14-year-long arbitration was over contractual disputes between Gertler and the Gertner brothers, who invested in Gertler's businesses over several years beginning in 2005-2006.

Gertler’s lawyers told Bloomberg Katumba was key to helping local communities: “The joint projects of Mr. Gertler & Mr. Katumba that resulted from their partnership are numerous" & “There is absolutely no proper basis on which to paint the payments to Mr. Katumba as improper.”.

“Either way, the rights intended for Katumba had to be retained by me in order for me to transfer them to Katumba at his request, or make any other use of them as Katumba directs,” Gertler testified according to the decision.

"In some of the ventures I held the rights for Katumba through separate companies from the companies through which I held my rights,” and in some ventures the same company held the rights intended for both Katumba & Gertler, he testified, according to the decision.

“All I had, half of it was his,” Gertler was quoted as saying during the arbitration. (His lawyers told Bloomberg he was speaking colloquially, and that while in some deals Katumba's share may have reached 50%, the majority were at about 15%.).

A 1,224 page arbitration decision shared with Bloomberg by @PPLAAF contains the 1st-ever testimony from Dan Gertler about his partnership w/ Katumba Mwanke incl. $100s of millions worth of payments to & shares held for Katumba & unnamed Congolese partners🧵

A good piece showing how complicated this repatriation of FDLR communities and the return of IDPs & refugees is going to be.

Congo-Rwanda Deal: Now Comes the Hard Part. Nice analysis of the challenges ahead, in particular of how an M23-Congo peace agreement could work .via @crisisgroup.

Pres Kagame jokes about some health problems & rumors w/out giving details but reassures press conference that he's very much alive.

In a wide-ranging press conference, Rwanda's Paul Kagame promised to adhere to US-brokered peace deal w/ Congo. He said the mineral narrative "oversimplified" the conflict & called for the elimination of FDLR & return of refugees @OndiroOganga