Two whistleblowers and former employees of Afriland First Bank, Gradi Koko Lobanga and Navy Malela, were sentenced to death in absentia in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The sentence was passed after Afriland First Bank accused Gradi Koko Lobanga and Navy Malela in July 2020 of “theft of documents, violation of banking secrecy, forgery and use of forgeries, slanderous denunciation, all in an organized gang.” The decision was released in March 2021. Gradi Koko Lobanga and Navy Malela were the sources of the investigations that led to the publication of the report “Undermining Sanctions,” published in July 2020 by Global Witness and PPLAAF. The report took a critical look at billionaire Dan Gertler’s business empire and his alleged links to financial institutions in Africa. Dan Gertler is an Israeli mining magnate operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who is close to former President Joseph Kabila.