EXPOSED: How Rwanda’s Proxy War Hijacked a $300M Reform Deal

• A new exposé reveals how Rwandan-backed M23 rebels continue to control Congo’s lucrative gold trade, undermining official reform efforts led by Kinshasa and the UAE. Despite a joint venture meant to clean up the sector, smuggling networks tied to Rwanda have expanded under the cover of war, fueling conflict, corruption, and environmental devastation.

EXPOSED: Conflict Gold in Congo:

As Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized key eastern Congolese trade hubs and gold-rich territories in early 2025, a deeper pattern of organized looting has once again come to light, one that reveals how Congo’s mineral wealth continues to fund violence, foreign interference, and environmental destruction.

A new report by Global Initiative shows how Congolese gold is still flowing through murky, unregulated supply chains, despite efforts by the Congolese government and international partners to formalize the sector. The study raises critical alarms: Rwanda’s covert role as a smuggling corridor has not stopped; it has intensified under the cover of war.

The Failed Gold Venture: Primera and the Illusion of Reform

At the center of this exposé is Primera Gold DRC SA, a joint venture launched in December 2022 between Kinshasa and a UAE-registered firm. It was touted as a bold step to clean up Congo’s artisanal gold sector and curb smuggling, especially to neighboring Rwanda, which has long served as an illegal exit route for looted Congolese minerals.

By 2023, Primera had exported over five tonnes of gold worth $300 million, mostly from South Kivu. But behind the numbers lies a troubling reality:

• Gold was extracted from zones controlled by non-state armed groups, many linked to Rwanda.

• Evidence of child labor, illegal dredging, and environmental destruction was found.