Gold Smuggling In The Congo: Why Did The Decree By Kabila Fail? By Scott A Morgan

caption: Congo miners

In recent weeks there has been several items regarding the one year anniversary of the Dodd-Frank Financial reform law. There is a section of that law that sought to address the flow of minerals out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  Recently a paper was released in Belgium that critiqued the trade of one specific mineral and it should raise eyebrows.

From September 2010 to March of this year a Presidential Decree by Joseph Kabila was in order for the Kivu Provinces and Maniema. This decree suspended the exploration of and exportation of minerals that were mined in these strife torn provinces in the Eastern part of the Country. There are a couple of points that need to be addressed.

The hypothesis behind the paper by IPIS (International Peace Information Service), which is based in Belgium, was that the Decree was a failure in its attempt to restrict the flow of Congolese Minerals to neighboring countries. As a matter of fact the report focused on the Gold Trade through Kenya.

There were two high profile incidents involving the shipment of Gold through Kenya earlier this year. One resulted in the Death of a Police investigator in Nairobi who was shot to death while investigating the reported smuggling of two and a half tons of Congolese Gold. This incident led to a Meeting between President Kabila of the DRC and President Kibaki of Kenya. What is interesting is that President Kabila seemed to be knowledgeable about the individuals that were suspected of using Kenyatta Airport as a transit hub to smuggle this precious metal.

Another incident that should raise eyebrows was the reported involvement of a US Company in the smuggling of Gold out of the Congo through the Airport in Goma. This Company CAMAC is based Houston, Texas and its owner Kase Lawal holds dual citizenship between the US and Nigeria. Another key fact is that Mr. Lawal is on the Advisory Committee of Trade Policy and Negotiation. He was appointed to this position by President Obama.
 

These are not the only ties that Mr. Lawal has in Washington, D.C. however. He was on the Presidential Trade Advisory Committee for both Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. He was also a major fundraiser for the Hilary Clinton Campaign for President in 2008. He was also indicted in Nigeria back in 1999 for reportedly defrauding the Nigerian Government of 10 Million Barrels of Oil.

Earlier this year a plane leased to CAMAC Aviation was detained at the Goma Airport. According to reports Forces loyal to Bosco Ntaganda a General in the Congolese Army unloaded $6.5 Million in Cash from a Learjet. Afterwords over 400 kilograms of Gold was reportedly loaded onto the aircraft. The deal fell through when the Gold was seized and the Nigerian Businessmen on board the aircraft were detained.
 From the information presented in the paper it can be assumed that Kenya is a key player in the smuggling of Gold outside of the Country. Therein rises a new question to be asked. Should those who call for the Implementation of Public Law 109-456 now ask for sanctions to be levied against Kenya? Secondly will the SEC investigate CAMAC for its actions in smuggling Gold outside of the DRC?  These are issues need that will need to

The Author Comments on US Policy towards Africa and publishes Confused Eagle on the Internet. It can be found at confusedeagle.livejournal.com