Police have searched several properties in Belgium belonging to family members of Democratic Republic of Congo’s President Félix Tshisekedi, as part of an investigation into suspected personal enrichment from the country’s mining sector.
Belgian prosecutors have confirmed that searches were carried out simultaneously on Wednesday in Brussels and the two provinces surrounding the Belgian capital as part of an investigation into alleged financial crimes linked to mining activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
The investigation follows a complaint filed in July 2025 over suspected money laundering. The case also involves allegations of corruption, embezzlement and other financial offences.
The complaint was lodged by several civil society organisations in Katanga, in southeastern DRC, alongside four former directors of state-owned mining company Gécamines. It accuses members of President Félix Tshisekedi’s family of illegally exploiting mines and misappropriating mineral resources in Lualaba and Haut-Katanga provinces.
The complainants turned to Belgian authorities because nine of the family members named in the case reportedly hold Belgian nationality.
Prosecutors have not disclosed whose properties were searched during Wednesday’s operation. Those named in the complaint reportedly include the president’s wife, mother and brother. Tshisekedi himself has not been directly implicated in the searches.
Family rejects allegations
The president’s family has denied the accusations, with its lawyers describing them as “entirely unfounded, false and defamatory”.
Jean-Pierre Muteba, a spokesperson for the group behind the complaint, alleged that mining waste known as tailings had been misappropriated and that billions of dollars could have been diverted from the public treasury.
The complainants are seeking the recovery of any funds found to have been unlawfully taken, arguing that the money should be returned to support development in the DRC.
The case comes amid longstanding concerns over transparency and the management of mining revenues in the resource-rich country.
The DRC is the world’s leading producer of cobalt, a mineral used in rechargeable batteries, including those powering electric vehicles. Despite its vast mineral wealth, the country’s mining sector has faced repeated allegations of corruption and concerns over how revenues are collected, managed and distributed.
