....the International Finance Corporation (IFC-World Bank), forfeited its right to an estimated $50 million in compensation following corruption on its investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo by notorious Israeli businessman, Dan Gertler. UK corporate watchdog, RAID, today submitted a detailed official complaint to the World Bank Integrity Vice-Presidency, an independent unit within the World Bank Group that investigates and pursues sanctions related to fraud and corruption. The unit has the power to commence investigations that may result in blacklisting of individuals and corporate entities. RAID criticized IFC for failing to publicly denounce the corruption on its investments over a decade ago and for giving up its rights to compensation...

“IFC projects were targeted by Gertler and his cronies in Congo yet officials did not denounce those who were responsible, did not refer anyone for blacklisting or take legal steps to recover losses,” said Anneke Van Woudenberg, the Executive Director of RAID. “The Bank could have recovered millions for new development projects in Congo to rectify the wrongs, but instead IFC officials stayed quiet and failed the Congolese people when they needed them most.”...

On August 29 a United States court confirmed the former shareholders of Africo Resources Ltd, a company in which IFC had invested in November 2007, were “victims of crime” as a result of the corruption and should be entitled to a restitution award. IFC was conspicuously absent from the legal action, having passed its right to compensation, known as restitution rights, to a third party in an opaque transaction. The possibility of restitution rights only arose in 2016 after the US Department of Justice successfully took legal action under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) against another co-conspirator in the corruption scheme, American hedge fund Och-Ziff (recently renamed Sculptor Hedge Fund)...

According to the Africa Progress Panel, between 2010 and 2012, Congo lost over $1.36 billion in revenues from the under-pricing of mining assets that were sold to offshore companies linked to Gertler.