According to a report by the Democratic Republic of Congo's government public finance watchdog, more than $400 million in tax advances and loans paid by the state mining company Gécamines to the national treasury cannot be accounted for. Gécamines, holding minority stakes in major copper and cobalt projects, presented accounts showing payments of over $591 million, but only $178 million could be traced to the treasury. The report suggests that the missing funds were likely misappropriated and ongoing investigations are being conducted. Additionally, the report highlighted that $175 million paid to Gécamines as a signing bonus for a copper and cobalt project also could not be traced to the treasury. The report criticized Gécamines for its failure to independently evaluate mineral reserves in its joint ventures with foreign investors.

We invited Gécamines to comment on this allegations. No response was provided.