Dan Gertler

Dan Gertler
Dan Gertler
Born	December 23, 1973 (age 52); Israel
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, businessman
Known for	Founder of Dan Gertler International; mining and oil investments in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Dan Gertler (; born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire entrepreneur and the founder of the Dan Gertler International (DGI) conglomerate. Up until 2022, his enterprise controlled mining and oil properties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with investments encompassing diamonds, iron ore, gold, cobalt, copper, agriculture, and financial services. As of 2025, Forbes estimated his net worth to be approximately $1.5 billion.

Biography

Gertler is the grandson of Moshe Schnitzer, who co-founded and served as the inaugural president of the Israel Diamond Exchange and was honored with the Israel Prize in 2004. His family has deep roots in the diamond sector. He acquired early knowledge from both his grandfather and father before establishing his own diamond enterprise at 22 years old.

Business career

In 1996, he launched the Dan Gertler International (DGI) group.

International Diamond Industries-Congo (IDI-Congo)

After developing expertise in acquiring and marketing artisanal diamonds sourced from the DRC, Gertler secured a partnership with Société Minière de Bakwanga (MIBA), a state-owned diamond mining company. Through his association with Joseph Kabila, he was introduced to then-president Laurent Kabila in 2000.

Between September 2000 and April 2001, Gertler held exclusive rights to purchase all diamonds extracted from government-controlled areas, compensating Kabila with $20 million. This operation was conducted via International Diamond Industries-Congo (IDI-Congo), a subsidiary of his Israeli company IDI-Diamonds Industry. The profit-sharing agreement allocated 70% to IDI-Congo and 30% to the Congolese government, including MIBA. The purpose of this deal was to oversee and certify diamond origins under updated UN protocols aimed at curbing blood diamonds and illicit trade. Although IDI-Congo offered prices below market value, the DRC received a larger portion of diamond revenues than previously.

Following Laurent Kabila’s assassination in January 2001, Gertler temporarily lost influence. In April 2001, Joseph Kabila rescinded IDI’s monopoly due to pressure from producers and the International Monetary Fund advocating for sector liberalization. Nevertheless, Gertler reestablished connections with Joseph Kabila and became close enough socially to be invited to his wedding in 2006. By 2009, DGI had evolved into one of the world’s leading wholesalers of rough and polished diamonds, with integrated activities across mining, manufacturing, and distribution.

Emaxon Finance International Inc and Its Role in the Diamond Sector (2001-2017)

In 2001, Dan Gertler established Emaxon Finance International Inc in Canada, functioning as a subsidiary under Dan Gertler International (DGI). By April 2002, Emaxon had secured a four-year agreement to market 88% of the rough diamonds produced by the Societé minière de Bakwanga (MIBA), accounting for roughly one-quarter of the Democratic Republic of Congo’s legitimate diamond exports—around 600,000 carats each month. Emaxon acquired these diamonds from MIBA at a five percent discount and subsequently sold them on the open market to the highest bidder. Additionally, the company extended a $15 million loan to MIBA aimed at upgrading its mining equipment.

Emaxon's corporate status was revoked in July 2017 after it failed to submit annual reports to Quebec regulatory authorities for two consecutive years. Furthermore, the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed sanctions on the company as part of wider enforcement measures.

Fleurette Group and Fleurette Properties, 2006

Operating out of Gibraltar, Fleurette Properties oversees at least 60 holding entities incorporated in offshore locations such as the Virgin Islands, which serve as vehicles for Dan Gertler’s management of concessions within the Democratic Republic of Congo. The term Fleurette Group encompasses companies where Fleurette Properties holds either direct or indirect ownership stakes. Since 2006, this group has controlled the Kansuki concession—a significant copper and cobalt mining project in Congo that employed approximately 30,000 individuals by April 2016 and represented the largest private contributor to government revenues.

In February 2022, the Congolese government announced a near-finalized agreement with Fleurette Group, owned by Gertler, involving the transfer of assets valued at nearly two billion dollars—including cash reserves, cobalt mines, and oil wells—to state ownership. This initiative was welcomed by local civil society organizations. Subsequently, Gertler formalized this arrangement with President Félix Tshisekedi’s administration.

As part of this transaction, Ventora Group—also controlled by Gertler’s family—handed over all its mining and oil licenses along with exploration data related to these assets, collectively valued between $2 billion and $3 billion. Ventora committed to remitting a substantial portion of royalties derived from Katanga Mining's profits to Gécamines, the state mining enterprise, as earnings surpassed expectations due to fluctuations in copper and cobalt prices. Both Gécamines and government authorities confirmed that these dealings were lawful and conducted at fair market value.

In connection with this divestment from Congolese business interests, U.S. officials are reportedly considering removing sanctions previously imposed on Gertler.

Family Trust

By 2007, the family trust associated with Dan Gertler was the principal shareholder in Prairie International Ltd., which owned "Tremalt Limited, holding an 80% stake in Savannah Mining, co-owner of the Mukondo copper and cobalt project along with concessions C17 and C18 located in mineral-rich Katanga Province" of the DRC.

Global Enterprises Corporate and Nikanor (2004-2008)

In March 2004, Dan Gertler International partnered with Beny Steinmetz Global to establish Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC). By September that year, GEC had signed an agreement with state-owned Gécamines to rehabilitate and operate copper mines at Kananga and Tilwezembe, an arrangement formalized through a presidential decree in October 2005. The World Bank later criticized this contract for its "complete lack of transparency."

The mining assets held by Global Enterprises Corporate were subsequently transferred to Nikanor plc, a company registered in the Isle of Man. Gertler and Steinmetz contributed GEC’s 75% stake in KOV to Nikanor, which was owned 75% by GEC and 25% by Gécamines when it launched on the Alternative Investment Market in July 2006. The initial public offering raised $400 million, valuing Nikanor at $1.5 billion.

By February 2007, Dan Gertler’s Family Trust held a 22% interest in Nikanor Mining, with Gertler personally owning an additional 14%. In January 2008, Katanga Mining acquired Nikanor plc for $452 million, leading to Nikanor’s dissolution.

DEM Mining 2006 – Cobalt and Copper Operations in the Katanga Copper Belt

In April 2006, Gertler's company DGI secured a significant ownership interest in DEM Mining, a firm engaged in cobalt and copper extraction and related services within the Katanga region.

Tremalt Ltd 2006 Mukondo Mine, Kanaga Copper Belt

In June 2006, Gertler acquired Tremalt from Zimbabwean entrepreneur John Bredenkamp for approximately $60 million. Tremalt possessed a 50% stake in the Mukondo Mine. By 2007, ownership of Tremalt had shifted to Prairie International Ltd, where Gertler’s family trust held a controlling share. Tremalt managed 80% of Savannah Mining, which included concessions C17 and C18 located in Katanga Province, along with half of the Mukondo project. The remaining 50% of Mukondo was held by Boss Mining, which was itself 80% owned by the Central African Mining & Exploration Company (CAMEC). Gertler terminated Boss Mining’s leasing and operational control over Bredenkamp’s portion of Mukondo.

Prairie International Ltd. 2007 Mukondo, Kanaga Copper Belt

Following CAMEC’s acquisition of Boss Mining in February 2006, its proprietor Billy Rautenbach obtained roughly 17% ownership in CAMEC. Gertler and CAMEC intended to merge Mukondo assets and other copper-cobalt ventures in Katanga into a new holding entity, deliberately excluding Rautenbach due to his contentious relationship with the Democratic Republic of Congo government. In November 2007, Prairie International and CAMEC entered into a memorandum of understanding to finalize this arrangement. They established a joint venture that incorporated state-owned Gécamines concessions, transferring Tremalt’s holdings into this new structure. By February 2008, operations at Mukondo Mountain had recommenced under the joint venture framework.

Glencore Partnership 2007

Gertler formed an alliance with Glencore International Plc., Switzerland’s largest corporation and the world’s leading commodities trader. A notable asset within their portfolio is the Mutanda.

Starting in 2007, Glencore collaborated with Gertler through Nikanor until its merger later that year with Katanga Mining in a $3.3 billion transaction. Reuters described Glencore as "the biggest company you never heard of":

In June 2007, Glencore and mining entrepreneur Dan Gertler invested £300 million to acquire a 25% stake in Nikanor, aiming to revitalize copper mines adjacent to Katanga Mining’s properties. The agreement included an exclusive offtake contract for Nikanor’s production. During late 2008, Katanga's market capitalization plummeted by 97%. Confronted with liquidity challenges amid the global financial crisis, Katanga relinquished control to Glencore via a convertible loan and rights issue totaling about $500 million, resulting in Glencore obtaining a 74% share. By 2011, with copper prices surpassing $10,000 per ton, Katanga’s valuation approached $3.2 billion. Despite incurring a $108 million loss in 2009, it recorded a $265 million profit in 2010.

After US sanctions were imposed in 2013, Glencore initially suspended payments to Gertler but later resumed disbursing approximately 2.5% royalties from Congolese mine sales denominated in euros following Gertler’s legal action in a Congolese court.

Catela Global, 2008

In July 2008, Catela Global, controlled by Gertler's family trust, proposed a private placement to purchase approximately 25% of Anvil Mining shares, valuing the offer near C$296 million. An analyst from RBC Capital Markets suggested the capital might be intended for acquisition purposes; however, Anvil emphasized its priority was advancing the Kinsevere Stage II development. By August 2008, due to worsening market conditions affecting resource companies, Anvil scaled back the offering to about C$237 million.

Camrose Resources Ltd > Africo > Kalukundi Mine, 2007

Africa Management Limited was established in 2007 as a partnership involving South African housing minister Tokyo Sexwale's Mvelaphanda Holdings, Palladino Holdings, and New York hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management, with an estimated valuation near $30 billion.

By June 2010, ownership of the Kolwezi project was held by Highwind Properties, a British Virgin Islands-registered entity associated with Dan Gertler. In August 2010, Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), listed in London, declared its plan to gain indirect control over the Kolwezi license by acquiring a 50.5% stake in Camrose, whose main asset was a 70% interest in Kolwezi. Initially sold to Gertler for $20 million, the majority stake in Camrose was subsequently transferred to ENRC for $175 million.

Camrose also possessed a 64% interest in Canada-listed Africo Resources, which owned a 75% share of the Kalukundi exploitation license and held a 56% indirect stake in Comide Sprl, the licensee for the Mashitu, Pangalume, and Kii tenements.

A 2012 Mail and Guardian report detailed that Camrose obtained control over Africo through intricate transactions between 2007 and 2008. The Kalukundi concession within the DRC’s copper belt, operated by Congolese firm Swanmines (partially owned by Africo), contained significant copper and cobalt deposits. In April 2007, while Africo pursued majority ownership amid legal disputes over prior claims on Kalukundi, Dan Gertler leveraged his ties to President Joseph Kabila to intervene. He acquired the conflicting third-party company and resold it to Africo. Then in July 2008, Camrose secured approximately $100 million worth of Africo shares using financing from Vipar—an offshore company in the British Virgin Islands linked to Africa Management Limited—thus obtaining a controlling 63% interest in Africo.

Camrose and Highwind Group 2008-10

During 2008, Camrose Resources Ltd, affiliated with Gertler’s family trust, acquired a 62.5% shareholding in Africo Resources. By February 2009, Africo received governmental authorization in the DRC for its majority-owned (75%) Kalukundi operation.

In 2009, Highwinds—a British Virgin Islands entity connected to Dan Gertler—transferred a 50.5% interest in the Kolwezi Mine Tailings (KWT) project to ENRC. This project involved reprocessing copper and cobalt tailings valued at billions of dollars but had been seized from Highwinds by the DRC government that same year. Subsequently, the DRC revoked Canadian company First Quantum Minerals' license for operating the Kolwezi tailings facility, prompting legal challenges. First Quantum’s CEO remarked that this revocation resulted from maneuvers by a small influential faction within Congo rather than widespread government consensus. Following this, state-owned Sodimico confiscated the Frontier and Lonshi mines previously held by First Quantum.

Camrose acquired Highwind Group in August 2010. By March 2011, Sodimico sold its combined 30% stakes in these mines for $30 million to two companies registered in the British Virgin Islands despite their estimated combined worth exceeding $1.6 billion.

Emerald Star Enterprises Limited—controlled by Gertler’s family trust—was incorporated on October 29, 2009, in the British Virgin Islands. On December 21 of that year, Emerald Star sold an option granting purchase rights for the remaining half of Société Minière de Kabolela et de Kipese SPRL (which held interests in the Kabolela cobalt-copper deposit) to Katash-founded mining firm Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), which already owned half of it; the other half belonged to state-owned Gécamines. In February 2010, Emerald Star acquired Gécamines’ 50% stake for $15 million and promptly sold these shares to ENRC for $50 million—realizing a fivefold return on its initial investment.

Rowny Assets Limited BVI – 2011 Mutanda Mine, Katanga Copper Belt

Rowny Assets Limited, an offshore entity owned by Gertler's family, is referenced in Glencore's IPO documentation. Gécamines divested its 20% holding in the Mutanda project to Rowny Assets, a British Virgin Islands-registered company linked to Gertler. Although the stake was valued near $600 million, it was sold for $137 million. This acquisition by Rowny Assets was also noted in Glencore's May 2011 prospectus as purchasing the 20% share from Gécamines.

Biko Invest Corporation (BVI), 2011

Established on 23 February 2011 in the British Virgin Islands, Biko Invest Corporation (BVI), connected to Dan Gertler, obtained a 25% interest in Kansuki Sprl from Gécamines during 2011.

Mining assets and IMF

In September 2011, the International Monetary Fund requested clarifications from Sodimico and Gécamines—both state-owned Congolese firms—concerning asset disposals conducted below market value and lacking transparency.

By December 2012, the IMF suspended a $500 million loan to the Democratic Republic of Congo due to irregularities involving a company reportedly controlled by Dan Gertler in mineral transactions with Joseph Kabila’s administration.

Panama Papers, Mossack Fonseca, 2016

Dan Gertler’s name appears over 200 times within the Panama Papers. At least two companies—Burford Commercial S.A. and Norseville Estates S.A.—were incorporated on his behalf by Mossack Fonseca. His legal counsel asserted that Gertler was unaware of allegations concerning the firm's termination of representation in 2011. Additionally, Le Monde identified two more shell companies formed through Mossack Fonseca—Foxwhelp Ltd and Caprikat Ltd—connected to oil ventures in the DR Congo.

Paradise Papers, 2017

The Paradise Papers disclosed that on 5 November 2017, Glencore extended a $45 million loan to Gertler to aid negotiations with the Congolese state mining company Gécamines over a joint venture at the Katanga copper mine. Gertler is mentioned in 120 documents associated with Glencore. Having effectively assumed control of Katanga, Glencore agreed to support the joint venture proposal. The loan stipulated repayment if no deal was finalized within three months. Both parties denied any misconduct.

Magnitsky Act

The United States Department of the Treasury placed Dan Gertler on the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions list under the Magnitsky Act, citing serious human rights violations and corruption. This action froze his US-based assets and barred US dollar transactions with him. A 2018 article in The Economist highlighted that Gertler amassed his wealth through opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals worth hundreds of millions in the DRC. These illicit transactions, exceeding one billion dollars in value, undermined both economic development and legal governance in the country. The Executive Order also targeted multiple entities affiliated with him.

In November 2019, The Economist reported that sanctions imposed by President Trump on Gertler—who maintained close ties to then-President Joseph Kabila—alarmed companies operating within Congo and likely influenced Kabila’s decision not to seek re-election in December 2018. By 2021, Kabila’s influence had diminished as his allies lost power; President Félix Tshisekedi gained leverage over state-owned mining firm Gécamines to recover mines and royalties linked to Gertler.

In January 2021, following lobbying efforts by Alan Dershowitz and others on behalf of Gertler, the Trump administration temporarily eased restrictions through a US Treasury license permitting him unrestricted use of US dollars for one year. This relief ended on 8 March 2021 under President Biden’s administration. By October 2023, The Wall Street Journal reported that US officials were considering lifting sanctions against him.

DRC President Félix Tshisekedi engaged with Gertler to regain control over cobalt, copper mining, and oil exploration rights valued at roughly $2 billion. In exchange, Gertler requested Tshisekedi’s support in persuading the US government to remove sanctions against him. Despite DRC’s abundant mineral resources, approximately 60% of its population lives in extreme poverty; critics argue that as long as Gertler retains control over these assets, new investors will be deterred and the country cannot fully capitalize on its wealth. It is further contended that he continues to receive tens of millions annually in royalties.

In 2020, Gertler filed a lawsuit against Haaretz and journalists Gur Megiddo and Chaim Levinson seeking damages of nine million shekels after their investigative report revealed fund transfers from DRC to Israel despite US sanctions. The journalists maintained they did not allege that Gertler violated sanctions. Amidst the Gaza conflict in September 2024, Tel Aviv District Court recommended dismissal of the case; both parties consented.

In July 2025, Bloomberg published an investigation based on a comprehensive 1,224-page arbitration document where Gertler detailed payments made to a former close associate of the DRC president. The report found no evidence indicating bribery within those transactions.

Philanthropic activity

Outside of his business interests in the Congo, Gertler frequently supports organizations such as Migdal Ohr, multiple Chabad institutions, and the Maorot HaDaf HaYomi project. He maintains a strong relationship with the Nadvorna Rebbe and was associated with notable rabbis like Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum, David Hai Abuhatzeira, and Aharon Leib Shteinman until the latter's passing in 2017. Additionally, Gertler has donated millions of shekels to funds assisting individuals living with AIDS.

In 2014, he undertook the restoration of the Great Synagogue in Bnei Brak to accommodate a substantial kollel, offering scholars above-standard stipends, holiday bonuses, and financial support for expensive dental treatments, bar mitzvah celebrations, and weddings.

That same year, Gertler was instrumental in facilitating the release of Joshua French, who had been convicted in the Democratic Republic of Congo; his efforts were formally acknowledged by Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Ambassador Thor Vennesland through an official certificate. During the 2014 Nepal snowstorm crisis, he deployed a medical team using his private aircraft.

The Gertler Family Foundation

Established in 2004, the Gertler Family Foundation operates within the Democratic Republic of the Congo with initiatives spanning healthcare, education, infrastructure development, agriculture, cultural projects, and emergency relief. The foundation has founded five hospitals, supplied medical devices, and provided free surgeries for cleft lip and palate conditions. It restored a school in Lubumbashi, contributed to constructing a computer center, library, classrooms, improved local infrastructure, and developed farms alongside a zoo. The foundation also supports nutrition programs, offers aid to sexually abused girls, assists victims of natural disasters and AIDS patients, and provides care for vulnerable children and adults through SOS Children's Villages.

Diplomatic activity

In 2003, Gertler played a pivotal role in mediating peace negotiations in Congo (the Sun City Agreement), acting as an intermediary between Joseph Kabila, Paul Kagame, and U.S. officials including Condoleezza Rice. Subsequently, Kabila appointed him as "Special Envoy of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Washington."

Ron Dermer, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, characterized Gertler as a valuable asset for Israel’s security and strategic interests due to his influential connections across Africa and his philanthropic contributions.

External links