Dan Gertler

children	12

relatives	Moshe Schnitzer (grandfather) Shmuel Schnitzer (uncle)

website	dan-gertler.com

Dan Gertler (born 23 December 1973) is an Israeli billionaire businessman in natural resources and the founder and president of the DGI (Dan Gertler International) group of companies. Until 2022, his group had mining and oil interests[2] in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and has invested in diamonds, iron ore, gold, cobalt, copper, agriculture, and banking.[3] As of 2025 his fortune was estimated at $1.5 billion by Forbes.[4]

Biography

Dan Gertler is the grandson of Moshe Schnitzer, first president and co-founder of the Israel Diamond Exchange,[3] and the winner of the Israel Prize in 2004. His family was involved in cutting and merchandising diamonds. Gertler was initiated into the diamond trade early on by his father and grandfather. At the age of 22, he opened his own diamond business.[5]

Business career

In 1996, he founded the Dan Gertler International (DGI) group of companies.[6][7]

Dan Gertler International (DGI)

International Diamond Industries-Congo (IDI-Congo)

After gaining experience with purchasing and marketing artisanally mined diamonds from the DRC, Gertler started negotiations to establish a partnership with the Societé Minière de Bakwanga (MIBA), a DRC state-controlled diamond mine operator.[8] Through his friendship with the young Joseph Kabila, Gertler was introduced to his father Laurent Kabila, then-president of the

Family trust

In 2007 Gertler's family trust was the major shareholder of Prairie International Ltd., owner of "Tremalt Limited, which owned 80% of Savannah Mining, the holder of the other half of copper and cobalt operation Mukondo, as well as concessions C17 and C18 in the mineral-rich Katanga Province"[23] of the DRC.

Global Enterprises Corporate and Nikanor (2004-2008)

In March 2004, DGI founded Global Enterprises Corporate (GEC) in partnership with Beny Steinmetz Global. In May 2004 GEC signed an agreement with the state-owned Gécamines, finalized in September 2004, to rehabilitate and operate the Kananga and Tilwezembe copper mines. The deal was ratified 13 October 2005 by presidential decree.[24] This deal was later found by the World Bank, reviewing the DRC's three biggest mining contracts, to have been approved with "a complete lack of transparency" (Mahtani 3 January 2007).

Mining assets and IMF

In September 2011 the International Monetary Fund asked for explanations from Sodimico and Gécamines, both owned by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), concerning sales of assets below market value and without publicity.[53] [54]

In December 2012 the International Monetary Fund stopped a US$500m (~$ in ) (£310m) loan to the Congo because of irregularities in the way a company reputed to be controlled by Dan Gertler acquired minerals from Joseph Kabila's government.[55]

Panama Papers, Mossack Fonseca, 2016

Gertler's name appears more than 200 times in the Panama Papers. Mossack Fonseca registered at least two companies for him: Burford Commercial S.A. and Norseville Estates S.A. Gertler's attorney said, Gertler had "no knowledge of the claims raised regarding the [Panamanian firm's decision] to terminate representation in 2011."[56] Le Monde reported another two Mossack-Fonseca- incorporated shell companies, Foxwhelp Ltd and Caprikat Ltd, in the DR Congo oil industry.[19]

Paradise Papers, 2017

On 5 November 2017, the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that Glencore loaned $45 million to Gertler in exchange for his help with officials of the Democratic Republic of Congo in negotiations over a joint venture with state-owned Gécamines at the Katanga copper mine in 2009. Gertler appears in 120 documents regarding his relationship with Glencore.[57] Glencore, which had effectively taken over Katanga, agreed to vote for the joint venture. The loan document specifically provided that repayment would be owed if agreement was not reached within three months. Gertler and Glencore have denied wrongdoing.[58][59]

Magnitsky Act

The United States Department of the Treasury specifically named Dan Gertler in the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) financial sanctions list for serious human rights abuse and corruption, under the Magnitsky Act and blocked his US-based assets,[60] and "prevented any firm from doing business with him in dollars". According to a February 2018 article in The Economist, the sanctions statement said that Gertler had "amassed his fortune through hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals" in the DRC.[61] The corruption in mining and oil deals in the DRC amounting to over a billion dollars had undermined the impoverished country's economic growth and its "the rule of law".[62] Included in the Executive Order is the list of designated entities "affiliated with" Gertler, "Moku Mines D'or SA, Moku Goldmines AG, Fleurette Energy I B.V., Fleurette Africa Resources I B.V., African Trans International Holdings B.V., Fleurette African Transport B.V., Oriental Iron Company SPRL, Iron Mountain Enterprises Limited, Sanzetta Investments Limited, Almerina Properties Limited, Interlog DRC, Kitoko Food Farm, Karibu Africa Services SA, and Ventora Development Sasu".[63]

Philanthropic activity

Gertler is a regular donor to "Migdal Ohr" led by Rabbi Yitzchak David Grossman, various Chabad organizations, and the "Maorot HaDaf HaYomi" organization led by Rabbi Chaim David Kowalski. He is close to the Nadvorna Rebbe[74] and was close to his father, Rabbi Yaakov Yisachar Ber Rosenbaum, as well as to Rabbi David Hai Abuhatzeira.[75] He was also one of Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman's close associates until his death in 2017.[76] Additionally, Gertler has donated millions of shekels to a fund aiding AIDS patients.[77]

In 2014, Gertler renovated the Great Synagogue in Bnei Brak for the benefit of a large kollel (institution for advanced Talmudic studies) that he supports. The kollel operates around the clock, providing the scholars with higher-than-usual monthly stipends,[78]

Diplomatic activity

In 2003, Gertler was an active participant in the Congo peace talks (the Sun City Agreement), mediating between Joseph Kabila, Paul Kagame, and American diplomats, including Condoleezza Rice. During this period, Kabila appointed Gertler as the "Special Envoy of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Washington."[86]

In 2014, Gertler played a crucial role in the release of Joshua French, a Norwegian citizen convicted of murdering a local resident in the DRC. For his efforts, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Ambassador Thor Vennesland awarded Gertler a certificate of recognition.[87]

According to Ron Dermer, former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Gertler is an asset to Israel's security and interests due to his connections in Africa and his philanthropic contributions.[88]

External links

References

Donald Trump. Executive Order Blocking the Property of Persons Involved in Serious Human Rights Abuse or Corruption whitehouse.gov, 21 December 2017^
DRC:The grey areas of the Dan Gertler deal The Africa Report, March 7, 2022^
Franz Wild, Michael J. Kavanagh and Jonathan Ferziger. Gertler Earns Billions as Mine Deals Leave Congo Poorest

Glencore partnership 2007

Gertler has been a partner with Glencore International Plc., the largest company in Switzerland and the world's largest commodities trading company.[33][34][35] One of their mines is Mutanda.[3]

In the course of the Congo events, Glencore and Gertler partnered in Nikanor from 2007 until the final merger with Katanga Mining in late 2007 in a transaction valued at US$3.3 billion.[36] A 2011 article by Reuters journalists described Glencore as "the biggest company you never heard of":[37] In June 2007, Glencore and partner Dan Gertler, an Israeli mining magnate, paid GB£300 million for a quarter of mining company Nikanor, which planned to revive derelict copper mines next to Katanga Mining's properties. The contract gave Glencore exclusive sales rights to all Nikanor's output, an "offtake" agreement.

Katanga lost 97% of its market value over the final six months of 2008. Running out of cash in the financial crisis, Katanga accepted [Glencore] control, issuing more than a billion new shares for about US$500 million in a convertible loan and rights issue. A share that grew to 74% went to Glencore. In 2011 copper prices regularly set records above US$10,000 a ton, and the value of Katanga's stock market value was nearly US$3.2 billion. Katanga lost US$108 million in 2009, but posted an annual profit of US$265 million in 2010.[37]

Glencore had initially stopped all payments to Gertler to respect the 2013 US sanctions, but following a lawsuit filed by Gertler in a Congolese court, Glencore paid about 2.5% of the sales from its mines in the Congo in royalties to Gertler in euros, not dollars.

Catela Global, 2008

In July 2008 Catela Global, a company owned by Gertler's family trust, offered about C$296 million to buy Anvil Mining shares, around 25% of Anvil, in a private placement.[38] An RBC Capital Markets analyst, Cailey Barker, speculated that Anvil would use the cash infusion for acquisitions, but the company said it would remain focused on completing its Kinsevere Stage II project.[39] In August 2008, Anvil lowered the amount to be paid to about C$237 million, due to "the significant deterioration in market conditions for resource companies".[40]

Camrose Resources Ltd, Africo, Kalukundi Mine, 2007

"In 2007 Africa Management Limited was created as a joint venture between South African housing minister Tokyo Sexwale's investment vehicle Mvelaphanda Holdings, its associate company Palladino Holdings, and Och-Ziff Capital Management, a $30 (~$ in )-billion New York hedge fund (Wood et al. 2012)."[41]

In June 2010 the Financial Post of Canada reported that Highwind Properties, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, now owned the Kolwezi project. The newspaper, citing unnamed sources, linked the company to Dan Gertler. In August 2010 Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation, a company listed in London with most of its operations in Kazakhstan, said it was buying indirect control of the Kolwezi licence from Dan Gertler.[42] ENRC was buying 50.5% of Camrose from Gertler. Camrose's key asset was a 70% interest in the Kolwezi project.[43] The Kolwezi property was sold to Gertler for $20 million. He in turn sold 50.5% of Camrose to ENRC for $175 million.[44]

Camrose's other assets included a "64% stake in Canada listed Africo Resources which held a 75% interest in Kalukundi exploitation licence as well as a 56% indirect interest in Comide Sprl, which held the exploitation licence for Mashitu, Pangalume and Kii tenements."[45]

According to a 2012 article in the Mail and Guardian,[41] Camrose acquired a controlling stake in Africo through a simultaneous, complex and clever set of transactions from 2007 to 2008. Located in the south-eastern DRC's copper belt, the lucrative Kalukundi concession owned by Congolese company Swanmines, which was part-owned by Canadian miner Africo Resources, had potential for high copper and cobalt yields. In April 2007 Africo was preparing to purchase enough shares to become the majority shareholder of Kalukundi when a third party entered into litigation, claiming prior ownership. Dan Getler offered to help, through his connections with President Joseph Kabila. Gertler purchased the third-party company and resold it to Africo. In July 2008, the Getler company, Camrose Resources, purchased Africo shares worth about $100 million (~$ in ). Camrose then held a 63% controlling stake in Africo. Camrose paid for Africo through a loan from an offshore British Virgin Islands-registered company called Vipar, "an affiliate of Africa Management Limited."[41]

spouse
native name	דן גרטלר
native name lang	he
birth date	December 23, 1973‡R1R‡
occupation	Businessman
years active	1996–present

Biography

Business career

Dan Gertler International (DGI)

International Diamond Industries-Congo (IDI-Congo)

Family trust

Global Enterprises Corporate and Nikanor (2004-2008)

Mining assets and IMF

Panama Papers, Mossack Fonseca, 2016

Paradise Papers, 2017

Magnitsky Act

Philanthropic activity

Diplomatic activity

See also

External links

References

Emaxon Finance International Inc and the Diamond Industry (2001-2017)

International Diamond Industries-Congo (IDI-Congo)

Emaxon Finance International Inc and the Diamond Industry (2001-2017)

Fleurette Group and Fleurette Properties, 2006

DEM Mining 2006 - cobalt and copper in Katanga Copper Belt

Tremalt Ltd 2006 Mukondo Mine, Kanaga Copper Belt

Prairie International Ltd. 2007 Mukondo, Kanaga Copper Belt

Glencore partnership 2007

Catela Global, 2008

Catela Global, 2008

Camrose Resources Ltd, Africo, Kalukundi Mine, 2007

Camrose and Highwind Group 2008-10

Emerald Star Enterprises Limited BVI 2009 SMKK

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

Biko Invest Corporation (BVI), 2011

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

Biko Invest Corporation (BVI), 2011

The Gertler Family Foundation