Washington D.C. – The Sentry and the Enough Project welcome the announcement today by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) that it has sanctioned 14 entities pursuant to Executive Order 13818, which targets serious human rights abuse and corruption, for being affiliated with Israeli businessman and billionaire Dan Gertler.
John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry and Founding Director of the Enough Project, said: “Today’s action shows the type of consistent and escalating approach necessary for financial pressures to be effective in combating violent kleptocracy in the Democratic Republic of Congo and broader region. The Treasury Department’s addition of 14 more companies connected to Dan Gertler less than six months after the initial designation demonstrates a clear focus on impacting this network and those like it that profit from corruption and enable widescale human rights abuse. This is a strong conclusion to a week in which Under Secretary Mandelker delivered a message to the region that strong financial pressures will be used by the United States, and that the region’s governments and banks should be prepared to comply.”
Sasha Lezhnev, Deputy Director of Policy at the Enough Project, said: “The sanctions send a shockwave to President Kabila just at the time he’s deciding whether to stand in the elections, in violation of the constitution. The time for Kabila, Glencore, and anyone else wanting to a deal with corrupt tycoon Dan Gertler is over. The European Union should follow suit, and both the U.S. and E.U. should place sanctions on Kabila’s financial advisers to dissuade him from running, which would wreck the chances of a credible election.”
ABOUT THE ENOUGH PROJECT
The Enough Project supports peace and an end to mass atrocities in Africa’s deadliest conflict zones. Together with its investigative initiative The Sentry, Enough counters armed groups, violent kleptocratic regimes, and their commercial partners that are sustained and enriched by corruption, criminal activity, and the trafficking of natural resources. By helping to create consequences for the major perpetrators and facilitators of atrocities and corruption, Enough seeks to build leverage in support of peace and good governance. Enough conducts research in conflict zones, engages governments and the private sector on potential policy solutions, and mobilizes public campaigns focused on peace, human rights, and breaking the links between war and illicit profit. Learn more – and join us – at www.EnoughProject.org.
About THE SENTRY
The Sentry is composed of financial forensic investigators, policy analysts, and regional experts who follow the dirty money and build investigative cases focusing on the corrupt transnational networks most responsible for Africa’s deadliest conflicts. By creating a significant financial cost to these kleptocrats through network sanctions, anti-money laundering measures, prosecutions, and other tools, The Sentry aims to disrupt the profit incentives for mass atrocities and oppression, and creates new leverage in support of peace efforts and African frontline human rights defenders. The Sentry’s partner, the Enough Project, undertakes high-level advocacy with policy-makers around the world as well as wide-reaching education campaigns by mobilizing students, faith-based groups, celebrities, and others. Co-founded by George Clooney and John Prendergast, The Sentry is an initiative of Not On Our Watch (NOOW) and the Enough Project. The Sentry currently focuses its work in South Sudan, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and the Central African Republic.
In less than two years, The Sentry has created hard-hitting reports and converted extensive research into a large volume of dossiers on individuals and entities connected to grand corruption, violence, or serious human rights abuses. The investigative team has turned those dossiers over to government regulatory and law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and around the world, as well as to compliance officers at the world’s largest banks.
Learn more at www.TheSentry.org.