Published: July 2025
Authors: John Dell’Osso, Florian Hollenback, Michael Hornsby, David Szakonyi
This briefing examines how BGFIBank DRC, a private bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was systematically captured and used as a tool for grand corruption by former President Joseph Kabila and his network. Drawing on millions of leaked internal documents—the largest data leak in African history—the Congo Hold-Up investigation reveals how politically exposed persons exploited the bank to embezzle and launder hundreds of millions of dollars in public funds. The bank facilitated this through methods including trade mis-invoicing, fictitious loans, fraudulent cash transactions, and the abuse of internal accounts, all enabled by weak oversight and complicity from both domestic regulators and international financial partners. The case underscores the systemic risks posed by politically connected banks, the failures of global compliance systems, and the urgent need for reforms to prevent similar abuses worldwide.
