Belgium’s police raids on properties linked to relatives and associates of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi have triggered diplomatic tensions, with Kinshasa ordering its presidential cabinet to suspend contact with the Belgian embassy.
- Belgian police raided properties linked to relatives and associates of DRC President Félix Tshisekedi as part of a money-laundering investigation tied to mining revenues.
- In response, the DRC ordered its presidential cabinet to halt all direct and indirect contact with the Belgian embassy and its staff.
- The investigation centers on alleged misappropriation and laundering of mining revenues, following complaints by Congolese NGOs and former Gécamines directors.
- Nine associates and relatives of Tshisekedi, reportedly Belgian nationals, are under investigation, but there is no evidence implicating Tshisekedi himself.
The directive comes amid a money-laundering investigation linked to the alleged misappropriation of mining revenues in the DRC, a country rich in copper, cobalt, gold and other minerals critical to global industries.
The move adds strain to relations between the central African nation and its former colonial ruler, although the Congolese presidency has not officially confirmed that the restriction is a response to the Belgian investigation.
Anadolu Agency reports that the directive signed by presidential chief of staff Anthony Nkinzo Kamole instructs members of the presidential cabinet to avoid direct or indirect contact with the Belgian embassy and its diplomatic and administrative staff until further notice.
“All members of the Office of the President of the Republic, in the exercise of their duties, are requested to refrain, until further notice, from any direct or indirect contact” with the embassy as well as with its diplomatic and administrative staff, the circular reads in part.
Any necessary communication must be authorised and channelled through the DRC’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to reports on the circular.
Probe centres on alleged mining revenue laundering
The searches were conducted on October 14 in Brussels and surrounding areas as part of an investigation launched after complaints filed in 2025 by Congolese non-governmental organisations and former directors of state-owned mining company Gécamines.
Belgian lawyer Bernard Maingain and France-based Congolese lawyer Hervé Diakese, who represent the complainants, said the case concerns the alleged misappropriation of mining revenues and resources belonging to local communities, as well as the laundering of proceeds.
Diakese said the alleged activities deprived Congolese communities and the state of resources while allowing those involved to maintain lifestyles beyond what their legitimate incomes would support.
Media reports say nine relatives and associates of Tshisekedi, all reportedly Belgian nationals, are under investigation over alleged involvement in the plundering of mines in the mineral-rich provinces of Haut-Katanga and Lualaba. Belgian prosecutors have not publicly identified those targeted by the searches.
The allegations have not been proven in court, and no official evidence has established that Tshisekedi himself is implicated in the investigation.
The restriction on embassy contact applies to the presidential cabinet and does not amount to a formal severance of diplomatic relations between Kinshasa and Brussels.