● Biden Open to Easing Sanctions on Billionaire Gertler in Return for Congo Exit.
● US Needs Access To Congo’s Minerals Critical For EVs.
● Trump Had Waived Sanctions Only To Have Biden Reimpose Them
The US government is open to easing sanctions on billionaire mining magnate Dan Gertler if he gives up his business operations and assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Washington’s interest in critical minerals has run up against his problematic royalties ownership.
The Treasury Department is willing to grant limited sanctions relief to Gertler, an Israeli citizen, as a way to get him to exit from Congo completely, including relinquishing his royalty streams on three strategic projects, according to two US officials, who asked not to be identified as the talks are ongoing.
The mines are rich in copper and cobalt, a key ingredient in most electric vehicle batteries and which is almost exclusively mined in Congo. While Chinese miners have thrived in the Central African country, Western investors have been reluctant, in part because of a legacy of corruption.
The US sanctioned Gertler in 2017 for what it said were hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in Congo under the previous administration of President Joseph Kabila. In the waning days of his presidency, Donald Trump granted Gertler a one-year reprieve after repeated requests from the Israeli government, but that was canceled early in the Biden administration.
Credit: Bloomberg
