Thread by @raidukorg

A US judge today sentenced a subsidiary of New York hedge fund Och-Ziff for #corruption in #DRC.

Court documents reveal a lot about who was responsible. Though not charged, businessman #DanGertler features prominently.

This THREAD reveals what the court documents say: (1/10)

Canadian company Africo, the owners of the Kalukundi #copper and #cobalt mine in #Congo were the victims of #corruption. (2/10)

Och-Ziff admitted it funded investments in #DRC knowing that some of the money would be used to pay bribes. (3/10)

#corruption #bribery #FCPA

#DanGertler then took over the Kalukundi mine, paying rock bottom prices. The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (@IFC_org) was a shareholder. Over a year later, IFC quietly sold its shares at a substantial loss, while Gertler and Och-Ziff made huge profits. (4/10)

The guilty party in this court case, Och-Ziff subsidiary OZ Africa, is clear in its court filings who it blames for the wrongdoing. (5/10)

#DRC #corruption #bribery

The result of the #corruption was devastating for local communities. The Kalukundi mine was not developed, jobs were not realised, and community improvement plans for access to drinking water, health and education were shelved. (6/10)

#DRC #VictimsOfCorruption #Kisankala

The judge ordered $135 million in compensation to the shareholder victims. #DRC communities were not even a consideration in the court case - and received $0.

(7/10)

The World Bank’s IFC could have represented #DRC community interests in the court case, and sought to recover millions, but it waited till the last minute. It’s still not clear how this will unfold. (8/10)

#DanGertler denies wrongdoing. To date, he has not been charged in the US or elsewhere. His wealth is estimated at $1.2bn.
He once said: “I should get a Nobel Prize. They need people like us, who come and put billions in the ground. Without this, the resources are worth nothing.”

To put the scandal behind it, Och-Ziff changed its name to Sculptor @sculptorcm.

What will happen to IFC’s restitution rights remains unclear.

Local communities remain impoverished.

See our full press release here: bit.ly/3kTMJY2

(10/10)