On Dec. 20, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order under the year-old Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and related acts to block the property of 13 “malign actors,” plus 39 affiliated individuals and entities accused of “serious human rights abuse or corruption.”
One miner is on the list: Israeli diamond and copper mogul Dan Gertler, 44, who has wheeled and dealed for years in the murky world at the cross section of business and politics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Trump stated in his order that “serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy and economy of the U.S., and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat.”
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the U.S. is taking a “strong stand against human rights abuse and corruption globally by shutting these bad actors out of the U.S. financial system. Treasury is freezing their assets and publicly denouncing the egregious acts they’ve committed, sending a message that there is a steep price to pay for their misdeeds.”
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