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A company formerly linked to Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler has agreed to pay $30 million to resolve a corruption investigation in the Netherlands over controversial mining deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Dutch prosecutors confirmed on Tuesday that Fleurette, a Netherlands-registered firm that previously served as the holding company for the Gertler group, accepted a criminal settlement of 25.8 million euros, equivalent to about $30 million. The settlement follows a years-long probe into alleged bribery tied to the acquisition of valuable mining licences in the DRC.
The investigation began in 2018 and examined whether Fleurette, working alongside Swiss commodities giant Glencore, paid bribes to secure copper and cobalt mining rights at prices significantly below market value. Investigators suspected that tens of millions of dollars were channelled to a senior adviser to former Congolese president Joseph Kabila.
Kabila, who governed the mineral-rich but politically unstable country from 2001 to 2019, was widely seen as a close ally of Gertler during the period when many of the deals were concluded.
In a statement announcing the settlement, the Dutch public prosecutor’s office said that accepting the agreement confirms Fleurette’s role in bribery linked to the mining licences.
“By accepting this criminal settlement, the public prosecutor establishes that Fleurette, acting in concert with others, is guilty of bribing foreign public officials in the DRC in connection with the acquisition of mining licences,” the office said.
Dutch investigators had earlier dropped their inquiry into Glencore after the commodities giant paid a fine in Switzerland to resolve a separate corruption investigation.
Lawyers representing Fleurette said the agreement effectively closes the Dutch probe and confirmed that authorities will not pursue criminal charges against Gertler personally.
Gertler has long been a controversial figure in the DRC’s mining industry. The United States imposed sanctions on him in 2017, accusing him of using opaque deals to deprive the Congolese state of approximately $1.4 billion in revenue. Although the sanctions were partially lifted toward the end of Donald Trump’s first presidency, Washington reinstated them in March 2021.
In 2022, the Congolese government announced an out-of-court settlement with Gertler that enabled the state to reclaim disputed oil and mining assets valued at more than $2 billion.
Gertler’s activities in the DRC first attracted widespread global attention following the release of the Panama Papers in 2016. Despite the scrutiny, the Israeli businessman has consistently denied any wrongdoing or involvement in corrupt practices within the country’s lucrative mining sector.
