Press Release / / 01.26.21

DR Congo: Election Commission President Linked to Multimillion-Dollar Contract

Multimillion-Dollar Public Contract in DR Congo Linked to Sanctioned Elections Chief

 

Investigation by The Sentry Into No-Bid Contract Reveals Risks of Self-Dealing, Conflict of Interest Within Electoral Commission

January 26, 2021 (Washington, DC) – An investigative report published today by The Sentry raises new concerns over risks of corruption within the electoral system of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), including a spotlight on a multimillion-dollar electoral process contract linking back to the election commission president Corneille Nangaa Yobeluo.

The report comes on the heels of protests demanding electoral reform that convulsed cities across the DRC in July 2020. The report details how a key contract awarded by the DRC’s electoral commission, or Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI), ran the unmistakable risk of self-dealing, according to evidence reviewed by The Sentry.

The Sentry’s report, “Fingerprints and Money Trails: DRC’s Election Chief Cuts Deals on Both Ends of the 2018 Vote,” reinforces the urgency for transparent and impartial administration of the national electoral commission, an official pillar of the DRC’s fragile democracy.

Douglas Gillison, Senior Investigator at The Sentry, said: “Ninety million Congolese look to the electoral commission to help guarantee a future of democracy and transparency and yet the institution at the heart of this process has itself allegedly been looted time and again. To regain the trust of the DRC’s voting public, the electoral commission and its leadership should not have major conflicts of interest. Basic transparency reforms would go a long way toward creating an electoral body the Congolese people can believe in.”

In January 2018, the CENI awarded a multimillion-dollar services contract to two companies, one of which was backed by would-be business partners of the CENI president Nangaa. Other companies were unable to compete for the contract to remove duplicate voter registrations from among the tens of millions of entries in the DRC’s electoral roll. Nangaa has since been placed under US sanctions for his alleged role in embezzling election funds, charges he and the CENI have strongly denied.

Sasha Lezhnev, Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry, said: “Now is a critical window for electoral reform in the DRC, and a key part of it should be to prevent corruption within the electoral commission. As the DRC government considers reforms, international partners should urge the government to prevent future electoral commission conflicts of interest. Top electoral commission officials should be barred from doing business with their own contractors or employees.”

Michelle Kendler-Kretsch, Investigator at The Sentry, said: “If the DRC is to move forward on fighting corruption, there must be safeguards against it, especially at the highest levels. The US should maintain pressure on corrupt actors at the electoral commission and elsewhere, and the DRC government should investigate and prosecute any officials who may be found to be involved in electoral corruption.”

Despite widespread calls by Congolese civil society and the population at large to deepen democracy in the country, the CENI’s history since its creation in 2011 has been plagued with several scandals of alleged embezzlement, theft, and other misconduct. A wider system of kleptocracy has plagued the DRC for decades, creating incentives for leaders to cling to power and hijack state institutions, such as the electoral commission.

The report presents the following critical policy recommendations:

The US Department of State, the European Union, and the African Union should urge the Congolese government to enact key electoral reforms:

  • Investigate the voter roll data contract. Court of Cassation prosecutors should investigate the voter roll deduplication contract and the extent to which connections between Nangaa and BTC’s owners might have played a role in the CENI’s decision to include BTC in the contract award. Should any misconduct be discovered, they should then enforce all applicable laws.
  • Make no-bid contracts the exception, not the rule. In line with Congolese civil society recommendations, the prime minister’s office should issue a decree limiting the use of special authorizations for contracts to be awarded “gré à gré,” that is “by mutual agreement” with vendors and without competitive bidding.
  • Prevent future conflicts of interest. Both during and for a predetermined period of time after an election cycle, top CENI officials should be formally prohibited from doing personal business with CENI contractors, their shareholders, or employees. Candidates in a given election cycle should also be barred from ownership of or employment at CENI contractors.
  • Audit the CENI’s books. The National Assembly, the Court of Auditors, and the procurement regulator—the Autorité de régulation des marchés publics (ARMP)—all have key roles to play in a thorough, independent, and transparent audit of the CENI’s finances for the previous election cycle, the results of which should be made public. The audit should be conducted by an entity with no prior relation to politically-connected business interests.
  • Ensure that the public corporate registry is comprehensive, accurate, and updated. The DRC government has created a searchable online public registry of corporate entities. Public registries that include shareholder and beneficial ownership information can help improve corporate transparency, public oversight, and accountability. The government should ensure that the registry includes all corporate entities and that it is accurate, updated, and available to financial institutions, law enforcement, and the general public.
  • Apply—and enforce—public procurement laws and regulations. The Direction générale du contrôle des marchés publics (DGCMP, or General Directorate of Public Procurement) should ensure contract awards strictly comply with the DRC’s law on public procurement, which sets out precise, narrow conditions for allowing no-bid contracts. The government should also provide the ARMP with the staffing and resources it needs for the proper oversight of public contract awards.

To banks and relevant financial institutions:

  • Conduct enhanced due diligence. Regional and local banks should conduct enhanced due diligence on transactions involving the senior CENI officials who are now subject to sanctions, their companies, and persons or entities acting on their behalf. Financial institutions should submit suspicious activity reports to their respective financial intelligence units.

To the US government:

  • Hold corrupt actors accountable. The United States should investigate possible corruption and use the Global Magnitsky sanctions authority to issue sanctions and visa bans on those involved in corrupt activity. The United States should also provide anti-money laundering technical assistance to improve Congolese authorities’ abilities and capacity to tackle corruption and increase transparency.

Read the full report: https://thesentry.org/reports/fingerprints-and-money-trails/

For media inquiries or interview requests, please contact: Greg Hittelman, Director of Communications, +1 310 717 0606, [email protected]

About The Sentry
The Sentry is an investigative and policy team that follows the dirty money connected to African war criminals and transnational war profiteers and seeks to shut those benefiting from violence out of the international financial system. By disrupting the cost-benefit calculations of those who hijack governments for self-enrichment, we seek to counter the main drivers of conflict and create new leverage for peace, human rights, and good governance. The Sentry is composed of financial investigators, international human rights lawyers, and regional experts, as well as former law enforcement agents, intelligence officers, policymakers, investigative journalists, and banking professionals. Co-founded by George Clooney and John Prendergast, The Sentry is a strategic partner of the Clooney Foundation for Justice.

Learn more at www.TheSentry.org.