Belgian police have searched homes linked to relatives and associates of Democratic Republic of Congo President Félix Tshisekedi as part of a money-laundering investigation connected to alleged diversion of mining revenues.
The searches were carried out on Wednesday, October 14, at several addresses in Brussels and surrounding areas, according to Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office.
The prosecutor’s office confirmed that the operation formed part of a money-laundering investigation opened after complaints filed by Congolese civil society organisations in 2025.
It did not, however, confirm the identities of those whose properties were searched.
Two lawyers representing the organisations behind the complaint, Bernard Maingain and Hervé Diakese, told Reuters that relatives and associates of President Tshisekedi were among those targeted.
Complaint centres on Congo’s mining revenues
The case stems from a complaint filed in Belgium by organisations from the mineral-rich Katanga region of southern DR Congo.
The organisations, represented by Maingain and Diakese, accuse people named in the complaint of benefiting from mining revenues and resources they say should have gone to local communities and the Congolese state.
“The complaint in Belgium concerns the capture of resources by Belgian citizens and the laundering of funds derived from the misappropriation of mining revenues and resources belonging to local communities, to the detriment of the Congolese state,” Diakese told Reuters.
The lawyers say the complaint was lodged in Belgium because several of the people named are Belgian citizens living in the country.
Diakese said the allegations concern members of Tshisekedi’s immediate family as well as a wider circle of people close to the president.
“These proceeds have enabled those involved to maintain lifestyles far beyond what their legitimate income would allow,” he said.
The claims remain allegations and have not been established by a court.
Belgian prosecutors confirm investigation, not identities
Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that police searched several addresses in Brussels and suburbs to the north and south of the capital as part of the investigation.
But a spokesperson declined to confirm whether the people targeted were members of Tshisekedi’s family.
No charges or convictions arising from the searches were announced in the information released by authorities.
President Tshisekedi himself has not been identified by Belgian prosecutors as a suspect in the investigation.
The Congolese presidency declined to comment when approached by Reuters.
Scrutiny over one of Africa’s biggest mining sectors
DR Congo holds some of the world’s largest reserves of cobalt and copper, minerals that are central to battery production, electric vehicles and other technologies.
Successive Congolese governments have faced questions over corruption, contracts and the management of revenues from the country’s vast mineral resources.
Tshisekedi’s government has sought to attract greater foreign investment into the mining industry while arguing that Congo should receive a larger share of the value generated from its minerals.
The Belgian investigation now places allegations involving people in the president’s family and wider circle under judicial scrutiny outside the country.
The searches do not establish wrongdoing by those targeted. The investigation is continuing.