Three Chinese nationals have been sentenced to seven years in jail after being found guilty of illegal mining and being in possession of gold bars and $400,000 in cash.
The Congolese court in Bukavu, South Kivu province, on Tuesday found the trio guilty of money-laundering, illegal purchase and possession of mineral substances, among other charges.
The Chinese nationals, who were arrested on January 4, were further fined an equivalent to $600,000, and permanently banned them from Congo once they complete their sentences.
Christian Wanduma, the lawyer representing local communities in the case, warned that the ruling should be a lesson to all Chinese nationals in the DRC that they should operate withing the law.
“This is an educational trial that should serve as a wake-up call to all Chinese nationals who think they can leave China, arrive in Kitutu, Kibe, Lugushwa, Kamituga or Mwenga and behave as if they were in their own room, without even paying the hotel fees,” Wanduma said.
The three are only the first Chinese nationals to stand trial in the DRC since the country started the crackdown on the unlicensed mining in the mineral-rich but war-torn country.
The Chinese nationals pleaded guilty to four of the seven charges against them, arguing that they were not aware they were contravening local laws.
They said they would appeal the sentence.
This comes shortly after 14 of the 17 Chinese nationals arrested late December for allegedly running an illegal gold mine were released in December last year.
“Our minerals are being plundered by companies that are mostly Chinese-owned and our people remain in extreme poverty, the roads are very dilapidated, we have difficulty accessing drinking water, health care, education, electricity, employment,” civil society leader Nene Bintu said in Bukavu during anti-Chinese miners demonstration.
“This situation has gone on for too long and must end now.”
In 2021, DRC authorities banned six small Chinese-owned mining companies, who it accused of operating illegally.
