Biden urged to reinstate sanctions on Israeli tycoon over DRC deals

KINSHASA: Two rights groups on Monday urged the new US administration of Joe Biden to reverse former president Donald Trump’s last-minute easing of sanctions on an Israeli billionaire accused of corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The US State Department hit Dan Gertler with sanctions in December 2017 for "opaque and corrupt mining deals" struck with help from his friend, then Congolese President Joseph Kabila. Now "during the final days of the Trump presidency, the US Treasury substantially eased sanctions" on the billionaire, rights group Global Witness said in a statement.