BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Brussels prosecutors are investigating a deal between Belgian company Semlex and the Democratic Republic of Congo to supply biometric passports, a spokesman for the prosecutors’ office said on Thursday.

He said the investigation had started in early 2017 but declined to give any further details.

A Reuters special report last week showed that $60 of the price of every $185 DRC passport is channeled to a company registered in the United Arab Emirates, believed to be owned by a close relative of DRC President Joseph Kabila.

Brussels-based Semlex, which has become a leader in providing identity and travel documents for African nations over the past 20 years, was not immediately available for comment.