Trump secretly eased sanctions against Israeli billionaire on way out

In the waning hours of the Trump presidency the US reversed policy and quietly eased sanctions against billionaire Israeli mining magnate Dan Gertler. Now, rights groups are calling on President Joe Biden to reinstate them.

Gertler was put on the sanctions list by the US State Department in December 2017, for "opaque and corrupt mining deals" stemming from his friendship with then Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Joseph Kabila. The State Department says Gertler cheated the DRC out of $1.4 billion (€1.15 billion) in tax revenue over the course of a decade. Further sanctions were applied in June 2018.

The State Department sanctions barred Gertler from conducting business with US citizens, businesses and banks, essentially prohibiting him from making transactions in dollars.

Gertler, whose name appeared in the Panama Papers in connection with a number of holding companies registered in offshore tax havens, is said to have leveraged his friendship with Kabila to access Congo's rich resources. The desperately impoverished country is home to the world's largest cobalt deposits as well as massive copper, diamond, gold, tin and coltan reserves.

'A cloud of haste and secrecy'

The Sentry, a Washington DC.-based anti-corruption outfit co-founded by actor George Clooney says, "for a sanctions designation issued specifically for corrupt and secretive activities in the DR Congo and elsewhere, to have been privately undercut under a cloud of haste and secrecy at the very end of the Trump administration strikes a terrible blow to the heart of one of the most lauded and effective anti-corruption programs of the last decade."

Gertler, who has denied any wrongdoing, engaged law firms with ties to the Trump administration to lobby his case. Most notably, Alan Dershowitz, who represented Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial, was one of the lawyers lobbying the US Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers and enforces economic and trade sanctions on behalf of the US.

A last-minute license issued by the US Department of Treasury and not publicly announced does not entirely remove Gertler and his companies from the US sanctions list, though it does allow them to conduct business transactions, while requiring them to file reports on financial activities every 90 days.

"Mr. Gertler is grateful to OFAC for issuing a license that will enable him to operate his businesses and philanthropic activities," according to a statement released by Gertler's spokesman.

Now, The Sentry and the rights group Global Witness are urging the Biden administration to "revoke this effective pardon." Global Witness said, "We call on the new Biden administration to take a strong stance against corruption by reapplying the sanctions in full without delay." The Sentry also called on banks not to "open accounts or otherwise conduct transactions for or on behalf of Gertler and his network."

The Sentry's managing director, Brad Brooks-Rubin, said the reversal served "no discernible geostrategic or national security purpose" and he decried the secretive fashion in which the move was conducted: "Unlike the pardons and regulatory changes done openly, or any of Treasury's normal methods for undoing sanctions, this was done behind closed doors not only to the public but many professionals in the government as well."

A spokesman for the Department of Treasury acknowledged that the Biden administration was aware of the situation but offered no further comment on Monday.

The DRC's 'resources curse' Rich resources and violent opportunists In the unstable eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, treasures like gold and tin attract opportunistic militia. The violent groups exploit people, including children, to mine for "conflict minerals." With the revenue they buy weapons to conquer more territories and perpetuate the fighting.

The DRC's 'resources curse' Protecting citizens and legal mining operations MONUSCO, the UN's biggest and most expensive peace-keeping mission, is working to stabilize the provinces of North and South Kivu, which lie at the center of the country's violence. Security forces patrol mining villages like Nzibira, which sits at the edge of Zola Zola, a legal cassiterite mine.

The DRC's 'resources curse' Paying the human price for mobile phones Cassiterite is just one of the minerals used in mobile phones. Half of the world's production of those minerals comes from Central Africa. The DRC's export of tin, gold and other ore has been under particular scrutiny since 2010, when laws were introduced in the United States requiring listed US companies to ensure their supply chains were free from "conflict minerals".

The DRC's 'resources curse' Proving the legality of minerals A poster in Nzibira explains how sacks of minerals need to be properly sealed and labeled by the mine inspector so their legal origin can be proven to US firms. The system, however, has many gaps. Illicit mines can simply sell their yield on the black market or smuggle their goods into a legal mine to have them packed there.

The DRC's 'resources curse' Exploitation of children Despite efforts by rights groups, human rights violations remain widespread in mining operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Children like Esperance Furahaare, who was kidnapped and raped by militia when she was 14 years old, are common victims of exploitation and violence.

The DRC's 'resources curse' Environmental impact Mines, which are difficult to police, can also harm the environment and surrounding communities. At illegal mines, waste water runoff often makes its way into local water sources, polluting the supply.

The DRC's 'resources curse' Unclear future for laws tackling conflict minerals US lawmakers are currently trying to advance a bill that would eliminate the 2010 reforms. Legislators argue that the Dodd-Frank Act has stifled economic development in the US and has not effectively addressed exploitation in Central Africa. While US companies must ensure their supplies are not conflict minerals, all they are expected to do is ask their suppliers, not supply proof or origin. Author: Meggie Morris (dpa)