Congo's illegal gold trade benefiting foreign companies

Kinshasa

FOREIGN companies and armed groups are profiting from an illegal trade in gold in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo despite international regulations intended to clean up the sector, Global Witness said.

One Chinese company that operates gold-dredging boats in the region smuggled as much as US$17 million worth of the metal out of the country during a 12-month period between 2014 and 2015, the London-based advocacy group said in a report published on Tuesday. Armed groups made as much as US$25,000 a month in illegal taxes extorted from artisanal diggers and received at least two assault rifles and US$4,000 from the company over a two-year period, it said.