On December 6, 2021, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated Alain Mukonda and 12 entities located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Gibraltar that were linked to or associated with Mukonda. Mukonda and the 12 entities were designated for providing financial or material support to Dan Gertler, a billionaire sanctioned by OFAC in 2017. The designations were made pursuant to EO 13818, which builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, targeting those who engage in serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world. The designations were imposed by OFAC as part of a coordinated effort with DRC officials who have made the fight against corruption a priority in the DRC.
OFAC reports that Dan Gertler, who was designated pursuant to EO 13818 in December of 2017, made his fortune through corrupt mining and oil deals in the DRC that thrived as the result of his close friendship with former DRC President Joseph Kabila who acted as a middleman for the sale of mining assets in that country. Between 2010 and 2012, the DRC reportedly lost more than $1.36 billion in revenues from the sale of underpriced mining assets to offshore companies linked to Gertler. At the time of Gertler’s designation in 2017, OFAC designated Gertler’s associate Pieter Albert Deboutte and 19 companies linked to him, and in June 2018, OFAC designated 14 companies owned or controlled by Gertler.
As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of today’s designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons. In addition, entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
Department of Treasury Press Release