DR CONGO · MINING
Key Facts
- —The country The Democratic Republic of Congo is the world’s largest cobalt producer and a top copper exporter, with mines in the south.
- —What happened On Tuesday 20 October the regulator’s director general said nearly all of a US$20 billion market went to ineligible firms.
- —Who said it Ted Beleshayi Kasanda, head of the Authority for the Regulation of Subcontracting in the Private Sector (ARSP), speaking to a live online audio session.
- —The scope The checks cover 14 mining companies, among them units of Glencore, Ivanhoe Mines, CMOC and Sicomines, for the years 2020 to 2025.
- —The method Inspectors matched licensed subcontractors against the mines’ supplier lists, without yet tracing who owns the firms.
- —Why it matters Mine buyers and investors in copper and cobalt face supplier-compliance orders at some of the largest operations in the country.
- —Still open Reports differ on whether the US$20 billion is a six-year total or a yearly loss, and it measures missing licences, not proven fraud.
DR Congo’s subcontracting regulator says about US$20 billion in subcontracting work went to ineligible firms, meaning companies that did not qualify under the law. The figure covers 14 large mining groups and the years 2020 to 2025, according to the regulator’s director general.
Ted Beleshayi Kasanda gave the first results on Tuesday 20 October, and the Congolese news site Actualite.cd reported them on Wednesday 21 October. His authority, known as the ARSP, enforces the rule that subcontracting in Congo goes to firms owned mostly by Congolese.
What the Regulator Said
Beleshayi spoke on Tuesday 20 October during a live online audio session hosted by the Congolese journalist Stanis Bujakera Tshiamala. He described a market of about US$20 billion in which almost everything had been paid to ineligible firms lacking the required licence.
He called the finding “hallucinant”, French for staggering, and said the firms had not even tried to borrow a front name to get the licence. In his words, the practice shows a wish to “mock the state”.
How the Regulator Counted
The ARSP used only a desk review of documents. Its staff compared the list of licensed firms, who hold a certificate called an attestation, with the supplier lists the mining companies had filed.
Most of the subcontractors that were paid held no attestation at all, according to the director general. The authority has not yet looked into who truly owns or controls these ineligible firms.
The 14 Mining Groups Under Review
Beleshayi named Glencore, through its Kamoto Copper Company and Mutanda Mining units, and Ivanhoe Mines, through Kamoa Copper. Sicomines, a joint venture tied to Chinese state companies, and CMOC, a Chinese miner, were also on his list.
He said these groups account for 80 to 90 percent of subcontracting turnover in the country. The checks cover 2020 to 2025, although some companies were reviewed for only one year, two years or six months.
One Figure, Two Readings
Radio Okapi reported on 4 October, after a press conference on Thursday 1 October, that Congo loses nearly US$20 billion a year. Le Point and Mediacongo reported on 18 October a six-year total of US$20 billion, or roughly US$3.3 billion a year.
The same outlets stress that the figure measures missing licences, an administrative breach, and not fraud proven in court. Mining companies declared US$3.7 billion in subcontracts for 2025, and 83 percent was said to have gone to Congolese firms.
Declarations the Regulator Does Not Trust
Asked about those 2025 declarations, the director general answered that they are “not at all reliable”. For that reason the ARSP now audits after the fact, using the companies’ own accounting books.
The law requires subcontracting payments to pass through banks so that records can be cross-checked. The banks have been slow to answer the ARSP’s requests, he said, which leaves the authority without an independent source.
What the Regulator Has Done So Far
The ARSP has ordered mines to drop ineligible firms, including 1,540 suppliers at Kamoto and Mutanda, as an earlier Rio Times report described. It also told three Ivanhoe units to end 140 contracts and gave Sicomines 30 days for a corrective plan.
Beleshayi said the checks of the 14 groups have led to orders touching more than 1,000 companies. He also said the wait for a licence has fallen from over six months to 10 to 15 days since the process moved online.
Why the Authority Is Short of Staff
The ARSP supervises companies in 13 sectors, not only mining. When Beleshayi took charge he had about 60 inspectors, many without the training to read financial statements.
He has started an internal recruitment drive and says a full review of the economy will take time. Asked whether insiders helped the practice go unnoticed since 2020, he replied that he could not say.
What It Means for US Readers
Congo supplies most of the cobalt used in electric-car and phone batteries, and Glencore, CMOC and Ivanhoe sell to Western and Asian buyers. Orders at their mines can slow contracts and add legal risk, so buyers may need to ask who stands behind their suppliers.
For investors in listed miners, this is a governance and cost question, not a supply cut, since the mines keep operating while contracts change hands. Rio Times guides to Congo’s role in the region and Africa’s critical minerals explain the wider setting.
What Is Not Known
Nobody has said how much of the US$20 billion was overpriced or lost to the state, and no court has found fraud. The ARSP has not said whether the mining companies face fines beyond the 30-day corrective plans.
The owners of the ineligible firms are still unidentified, and the ARSP has not said when the checks will reach beyond the 14 mining groups. Whether the figure is a six-year total or a yearly loss is also still debated.
More: DR Congo news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did DR Congo’s subcontracting regulator announce?
Director general Ted Beleshayi Kasanda said on Tuesday 20 October that nearly all of a US$20 billion market went to ineligible firms. The checks covered 14 mining groups and the years 2020 to 2025.
What is the ARSP?
It is the Authority for the Regulation of Subcontracting in the Private Sector, a public body in Kinshasa. It licenses subcontractors and enforces the rule that subcontracting is reserved for companies majority-owned by Congolese.
Is the US$20 billion lost each year?
Radio Okapi first reported it as a yearly loss on 4 October. Le Point and Mediacongo later described it as a six-year total from 2020 to 2025, or roughly US$3.3 billion a year.
Does this mean fraud was proven?
No court has ruled on it. The regulator found that firms lacked the required licence, which is an administrative breach, and it has not yet traced who owns them.
Which companies are affected?
The 14 groups include Glencore’s Kamoto Copper Company and Mutanda Mining, Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa Copper, Sicomines and CMOC’s TFM and KFM units. The other groups were not named.
Could this affect copper and cobalt supply?
No supply cut has been announced, and the mines continue to operate. The orders could slow contracting and raise compliance costs while firms replace ineligible suppliers.
Sources: Actualite.cd, Sous-traitance : près de 20 milliards de dollars versés à des sociétés inéligibles, révèle le DG de l’ARSP, 21 October 2026; Actualite.cd, ARSP : en 100 jours, Ted Beleshayi ramène de six mois à quinze jours le délai d’obtention de l’attestation, 21 October 2026; Mediacongo, Sous-traitance minière : 20 milliards de dollars versés en six ans à des fournisseurs jugés inéligibles (from Le Point.cd), 18 October 2026; Radio Okapi via AllAfrica, L’ARSP sonne l’alerte sur 20 milliards USD de pertes annuelles, 4 October 2026; ARSP, official site, 22 October 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief