NEWSNATURE
US State Department Sanctions Three Congolese Officials for Trafficking Protected Animals to China
August 18, 2023
Kiki Kienge
By
Kiki Kienge
It is within the framework of the fight against corruption and for the protection of nature, in particular through agreements signed by the Democratic Republic of Congo with the United States and other international organizations, that the Department of State of the United States United through his spokesperson, Matthew Miller has decided to sanction three Congolese officials from the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).
These three officials are accused of abusing their functions to illegally sell endangered species, such as Okapis, gorillas, chimpanzees and others, often falsifying documents for their export to China.
The Congolese were and this for years, at the center of an ecological Chinese mafia, which by bribing already badly paid civil servants and who notably have months of arrears of their salaries finds fertile ground for its shenanigans.
These people, including two of their wives, are ineligible to enter the United States.
U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT RELEASE
The United States designates the following individuals as generally ineligible for entry into the United States, due to their involvement in significant corruption:
- Cosma Wilungula Balongelwa , former Director General of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN);
- Leonard Muamba Kanda , former Head of Department of the DRC Management Authority for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and Director of ICCN;
- and Augustin Ngumbi Amuri , Director-Coordinator of the CITES Management Authority of the DRC and Legal Advisor to ICCN.
As officials responsible for wildlife protection, they abused their public duties by trafficking chimpanzees, gorillas, okapis and other protected wildlife species from the DRC, primarily to the People's Republic of China, using falsified permits, in exchange for bribes. Their corrupt transnational criminal actions have not only undermined the rule of law and government transparency in the DRC, but also longstanding wildlife conservation efforts.
Today's action demonstrates that the United States stands with those in the DRC working to disrupt wildlife trafficking and promote accountability for corrupt officials and transnational criminals. These designations also reaffirm the United States' commitment to fighting corruption, which harms the public interest, hinders the economic prosperity of countries, and limits the ability of governments to effectively meet the needs of their people.
These public designations are made pursuant to Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act of 2023. The Ministry also designates Kanda's wife,
Rose Nsele Ngokali and Wilungula's wife,
Esther Mwanga Wilungula , as generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
