LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–His Excellency Mr. Félix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has met in Kinshasa with members of the law firm Amsterdam & Partners LLP, which has been retained by the Government of the DRC in order to conduct investigations, pursuant to Congolese and international law, concerning the supply chain of 3T minerals (tin, tungsten, and tantalum) sourced from Congolese territory and illegally exported through money laundering operations on an international scale.
Following its investigations, the firm is determined to engage, if appropriate, in litigation internationally on behalf of the DRC against individuals and companies involved, willingly or unwillingly, in the chain of extraction, supply and commercialization of products of the pillaging of natural resources and minerals from the DRC. Indeed, the scale and duration of these activities have contributed to unfathomable harm and caused untold suffering endured by civilian populations in the local communities affected. Furthermore, these activities fuel the perpetual cycle of violence and of conflict, forced child labor, environmental devastation, and the enrichment of violent militias and terrorist groups in the region.
International observers have documented numerous schemes supporting a massive enterprise of money laundering through illegal trade in conflict minerals sourced from Congolese territory. These observers have also highlighted the relationships of close dependence between perpetrators of this looting and the major producers of mass-produced consumer electronics, from mobile telephones to computers, automotive and aviation systems, as well as renewable energy infrastructure.
Robert Amsterdam, founding partner of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, stated that “this activity by some of the largest technology companies in the world, which seriously harms the future of the people and economy of the DRC, has nevertheless been ignored and passed over in silence for far too long.” He further stated in this regard: “Our firm will collaborate with a team of lawyers both inside and outside the DRC, to address the scourge of the predation of the country’s resource wealth, and this work will set an example for the Global South.”
Amsterdam & Partners LLP is an international law firm with offices in London and Washington DC. More information about the firm is available at www.amsterdamandpartners.com.
Contacts
James Kimer, [email protected], +1.917.355.0717
