BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgian police have searched properties linked to relatives and associates of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi as part of a money-laundering investigation involving alleged misappropriation of mining revenues.

The searches were conducted on Wednesday, October 14, in Brussels and surrounding areas following a complaint filed in Belgium in 2025 by non-governmental organisations from the southern Congolese province of Katanga.

According to Reuters, lawyers Bernard Maingain, a Belgian attorney, and Hervé Diakese, a Congolese lawyer based in France, said the searches were part of an investigation into the alleged diversion of mining resources and laundering of proceeds involving Belgian citizens.

The lawyers represent a group of NGOs known as DESC/RDC, which alleges that revenues and resources belonging to local communities were misappropriated to the detriment of the Congolese state.

“The complaint in Belgium concerns the capture of resources by Belgian citizens and the laundering of funds derived from the misappropriation of mining revenues and resources belonging to local communities, to the detriment of the Congolese state,” Diakese said, according to Reuters.

He further alleged that the proceeds had enabled those involved to maintain lifestyles beyond what their legitimate incomes could support.

The complaint was filed in Belgium because several of the individuals named are Belgian citizens residing in the country.

Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that police had conducted searches at several addresses in Brussels and its northern and southern suburbs as part of a money-laundering investigation arising from the 2025 complaint.

However, the office declined to confirm whether the individuals targeted were relatives of Tshisekedi. The Congolese presidency also declined to comment.

Diakese said the complaint targeted members of the president’s immediate family as well as other individuals within his wider circle of associates.

Congo’s mineral wealth under scrutiny

The investigation brings renewed attention to the management of the DRC’s extensive mineral resources, particularly copper and cobalt, which are critical to global manufacturing, electric vehicle batteries and the energy transition.

The country holds some of the world’s largest reserves of these strategic minerals and has sought to attract greater investment into its mining sector. However, allegations of corruption and disputes over the distribution of mining revenues have continued to raise questions about how the sector benefits the state and local communities.

The allegations outlined in the Belgian complaint concern the alleged diversion of mining revenues and the laundering of funds. The searches represent an investigative step and do not, by themselves, establish criminal liability.

The case also emerges as Tshisekedi faces other challenges, including insecurity in eastern Congo, where an armed rebellion is led by his predecessor, Joseph Kabila, and growing opposition criticism over alleged plans to seek a third presidential term.

No evidence establishing Tshisekedi’s direct involvement in the alleged financial wrongdoing was presented in the Reuters report.

The Belgian investigation is expected to draw attention to the cross-border dimensions of financial accountability in the DRC’s mining industry, particularly where alleged financial transactions involve individuals residing outside the country.

Source: Reuters, October 15, 2026.