A Brussels court has referred the Belgian biometrics company Semlex and 13 other defendants to criminal trial over alleged corruption, money laundering and tax fraud tied to a contract to produce passports for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
A spokesperson for the Belgian federal prosecutor’s office confirmed that Semlex and an unspecified number of employees were among those referred to the criminal court, without giving further detail. The council chamber issued its decision on Monday.
Civil parties in the case, including 51 Congolese citizens and anti-corruption groups who joined the criminal investigation in 2020, allege the scheme diverted close to $60 million. They said the referral would produce the first trial of a Belgian company over alleged bribery of foreign public officials, though Reuters could not immediately confirm that. None of the allegations has been proven in court.
Semlex produced passports for the DRC between 2015 and 2025. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is among the world’s poorest countries by GDP per head despite its mineral reserves. Reuters reported in 2017 that the arrangement nearly doubled the price of a Congolese passport to $185, and that $60 of each fee went to a company owned by a relative of then-president Joseph Kabila. Authorities have not conclusively linked that company to the relative.
Semlex has denied wrongdoing, saying in a 2017 statement that it was the target of a smear campaign. A lawyer who has previously represented the company declined to comment on the referral. A person close to Kabila said the former president had no comment, as he was not directly associated with the case.
“We have a right to know where our money went. This trial will finally shed light on the matter,” said Fred Bauma, a Congolese human rights activist and a claimant in the civil suit.
The referral follows years of criticism from activists and from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development over Belgium’s limited enforcement of overseas corruption cases. Civil parties described the decision as a significant step for a justice system they said had previously failed to enforce anti-bribery laws. A trial date has not been set.
Sources: Reuters
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
