© Reuters.
By Stanis Bujakera and Aaron Ross
KINSHASA (Reuters) – Greater than $400 million in tax advances and loans that Democratic Republic of Congo’s state mining firm Gecamines stated it paid to the nationwide treasury can’t be discovered, in keeping with a report by the federal government’s public funds watchdog.
State miner Gecamines holds minority stakes in a number of of the world’s largest and cobalt initiatives, together with Glencore (OTC:)’s Kamoto Copper Firm mine and China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume mine.
Gecamines has lengthy been dogged by accusations of corruption made by non-governmental organisations and opposition politicians.
Gecamines has at all times denied all allegations of wrongdoing. Its secretary-general didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Saturday concerning the newest accusations.
Gecamines introduced accounts to auditors from the Normal Inspectorate of Funds (IGF) displaying tax advances and loans to the Congolese state of greater than $591 million, however solely $178 million may very well be traced to the treasury’s accounts, in keeping with an IGF audit report seen by Reuters.
The report, which is dated Could 31 however has not been publicly launched, stated the lacking $413 million had been presumed to have been misappropriated and that auditors would proceed their investigations.
It didn’t specify when the advances and loans in query had been made.
The report stated one other $175 million paid to Gecamines as a signing bonus for a copper and cobalt mission couldn’t be traced to the treasury both, and faulted the corporate for failing to independently consider the degrees of mineral reserves at its joint ventures with overseas buyers.
Gecamines produced near 500,000 tonnes of copper a yr throughout its heyday within the Nineteen Eighties, nevertheless it has since fallen closely into debt and offered off its majority stakes in main mines.
Congo is Africa’s high producer of copper and the world’s main miner of cobalt, which is utilized in electrical automobile batteries.
Since coming to workplace in 2019, President Felix Tshisekedi has overhauled Gecamines’ management, changing the executives most intently related to earlier corruption allegations.
