The American government announced on Thursday, June 25, that it has imposed sanctions on a Rwandan company and its chief executive, alleging their role in reselling gold illicitly sourced from the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to finance the M23 anti-government armed group.

According to the US Treasury Department, Gasabo Gold Refinery and its leader, Jean Malic Kalima, have served as a “key partner for Rwandan government officials and M23 rebels, for whom they extracted and transported gold out of eastern DRC.”

“The United States will not allow outlaw groups to profit from illegal mineral trade…”

The American ministry asserts that Rwandan soldiers and M23 combatants coordinated the secure transport of this gold to the Congolese city of Bukavu, situated on the border with Rwanda, and then onward to Gasabo’s headquarters in Kigali, the Rwandan capital.

“In early 2026, 60 kg of gold, representing millions of dollars in value, were moved from eastern DRC to Gasabo through this illicit channel,” the Treasury Department detailed in its statement.

“The United States will not permit outlaw groups to profit from the illegal trade of minerals to destabilize the region. The mineral wealth of the DRC rightfully belongs to the Congolese people,” declared Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, as quoted in the communiqué.

These US sanctions entail the freezing of all assets held, directly or indirectly, by the targeted individuals or entities within the United States. They also prohibit American companies and citizens from engaging in transactions with them, a ban that extends to foreign companies with US subsidiaries or those utilizing the dollar in their financial exchanges.

The M23 generates significant revenue through mineral taxation

Since its resurgence in late 2021, the M23 anti-government group (short for “March 23 Movement”), allegedly supported by Kigali and the Rwandan army, has seized extensive territories in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This region, rich in natural resources, has been plagued by conflicts for three decades.

An investigation by the NGO Global Witness, published in early June, highlighted that hundreds of tons of coltan were plundered from eastern DRC by the armed group and subsequently laundered in Rwanda before being exported to foundries supplying major electronics manufacturers.

In April 2024, the M23 captured the mining town of Rubaya, a crucial source that accounts for 15% of global coltan production, a strategic mineral vital for the electronics industry. The armed group derives substantial income by levying a tax on the production and trade of these minerals. According to UN experts, approximately 120 tons of coltan were exported monthly to Rwanda between May and October 2024 via these channels.