DRC files criminal case against Apple over alleged use of illegal minerals

Multinational tech giant, Apple, is in the spotlight after the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) filed a criminal case against its subsidiaries in Belgium and France.

Kinshasa accuses the company of illegally using what it described as “blood minerals” in its supply chain.

The allegations against Apple reportedly include war crimes, laundering, forgery, and deception.

Lawyers for the Congolese government say Apple has bought contraband supplies from the conflict-ravaged eastern DRC and Rwanda.

Both are zones in which the materials are alleged to be mined illegally.

The DRC government says they were then integrated into global supply chains before ending up in the company’s devices.

United Nations experts and human rights groups say some of the artisanal mines are run by armed groups involved in massacres of civilians, mass rapes, looting, and other crimes.

Kinshasa says this makes Apple complicit in crimes taking place in the east of the country.

The tech giant says it does not source its primary materials directly but that it does carefully verify their origin.

However, the DRC’s lawyers allege Apple units in the two countries deploy deceptive commercial practices to persuade consumers that its supply chains are above board.

Rwanda has also dismissed the allegations against the tech giant as unfounded.

The mineral-rich eastern DRC has been racked by violence between rebel groups and the Congolese army since the 1990s.