Major Magnitsky Move Mars Mining Mogul’s Murky Machinations

The US Treasury Department on Monday revoked a sanctions exemption that was issued by the previous administration to Israeli businessman Dan Gertler, opening the billionaire mining tycoon to punishment for his alleged corruption in Africa. The department said the waiver awarded to Gertler by former President Donald Trump during his last days in office was “inconsistent with America’s strong foreign policy interests in combating corruption around the world.” He is accused of bribing senior officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo in return for lucrative diamond and copper mining deals worth over a billion dollars. Previous sanctions leveled by Washington in 2018, under the Magnitsky Sanctions program, barred the 47-year-old from doing business with US companies, banks or individuals.