Rights group formally asks Swiss attorney general to investigate firm’s mining links with Democratic Republic of the Congo

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A watchdog group has filed a criminal complaint against the Anglo-Swiss commodities giant Glencore following revelations from the Paradise Papers.

Human rights campaigners in Switzerland have formally asked the country’s attorney general to investigate how the multinational obtained a copper mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).



Under Swiss law, the office of the attorney general will be required to assess and formally respond to the criminal complaint lodged by Public Eye.

“With the Paradise Papers, there are now even more elements pointing at embezzlement surrounding the acquisition of mines for the legal authorities to launch an investigation,” the watchdog group said in a statement.



“It’s overdue for [Swiss authorities] to rule on the legality of operations, whose dubious nature has been brought to the fore by the press and NGOs for more than five years.”

The Paradise Papers, files leaked from the offshore law firm Appleby, revealed how Glencore loaned $45m in pledged shares to an offshore firm of the diamond businessman Dan Gertler after enlisting him to help secure a joint venture agreement with the state-controlled mining entity Gécamines in the DRC.

“Glencore shall use its vote at the board of Katanga [Mining Ltd] to have Dan Gertler exclusively mandated to assist Katanga in finalising the terms of the joint venture agreement,” a document in the files stated.

However, Glencore made the loan with the caveat that it would be “immediately repayable on demand” within three months if Gertler failed to secure the contract. Glencore has previously said the loan “was made on commercial terms negotiated at arm’s length”.

The files also reveal Glencore used Gertler to negotiate with the DRC government. It has since distanced itself from Gertler, who was named in a 2001 UN investigation as having given $20m to the DRC president, Joseph Kabila, to buy weapons in exchange for a monopoly on the country’s diamonds.

He is also reported to be the unnamed “DRC partner” identified by the Department of Justice last year in a deferred prosecution agreement with a hedge fund accused of paying bribes to secure access to Congo’s mining interests.

Gertler’s lawyers have said that he denies the UN report’s allegations and that he was not a party to the DoJ agreement, which “does not constitute evidence of anything against Mr Gertler”.

Explaining its decision to file a complaint, Public Eye said: “The recent revelations in the Paradise Papers have added yet more damning elements to this momentous saga.

“In lodging its complaint, Public Eye is asking the office of the attorney general to open legal proceedings, in particular to ascertain whether Glencore has failed, as a company, to prevent illegal practices in upholding its legal duty of care.”

Glencore declined to comment.

The development comes one month after Glencore’s head of copper was forced to resign from the board of Katanga Mining amid an investigation into accounting practices by the Ontario Securities Commission in Canada.

Aristotelis Mistakidis and two other executives stepped down after the review raised questions about the “appropriateness” of some of Katanga’s accounting, according to Bloomberg. It also found that management staff and executives were responsible for “overriding the company’s control processes”.

Separately, charities and campaigners have expressed support for the Guardian and the BBC after Appleby commenced legal action against them.



“In Transparency International’s experience, investigative journalism of this type is critical in detecting and deterring corruption,” said Robert Barrington, the executive director of Transparency International UK.

“The extent of wrongdoing and unethical behaviours exposed by the Guardian, the BBC and the other global media partners of the ICIJ [International Consortium of Investigative Journalists] demonstrate the clear public interest in publishing material from the Paradise Papers.”

Rebecca Gowland, Oxfam GB’s head of inequality, said: “Investigations like the Paradise and Panama Papers help lift the lid on the hidden world of tax dodging which costs the poorest countries an estimated $170bn a year in lost revenue.

“Protecting those who expose these tax scandals is vital – public scrutiny is helping drive action to fix the broken global tax system and ensure there is more money to fight poverty worldwide.”

Christian Aid noted that the Panama Papers had prompted the EU to pass a directive requiring greater corporate transparency.

“Leaks such as the Panama and Paradise Papers play a crucial role in … increasing the pressure on politicians and global leaders for further action around the world.”

Appleby has claimed it is “obliged” to sue and that there was no public interest in publication. It has only brought action against journalists in the UK.

• This article was amended on 22 December 2017 to clarify that the $45m loan was in pledged shares.

