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Belgium has launched a criminal investigation into allegations that Apple knowingly took “blood minerals” from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which lawyers in the central African country called a “massive laundering and greenwashing operations”.

In December, the DRC filed criminal complaints in Belgium and France against the US tech group’s subsidiaries, which it says have used minerals supplied to armed groups that have committed atrocities in the east. Congo.

Lawyers acting for the DRC said Belgian prosecutors last week appointed an investigative judge – who oversees the investigation and oversees the issuing of arrest warrants, wiretaps and raids – to investigate the case. . They are still waiting for a decision from France, where the process is slower.

“This is the first step that shows that the prosecutor is very serious about the case,” said Christophe Marchand, the lawyer who prepared the case in Belgium, which colonized Congo with disastrous results in the early part of th -20th century.

The Brussels prosecutors’ office did not respond to a request for comment. Apple declined to comment for this story. It previously said it “vigorously disputes” the claims and is “deeply committed to responsible sourcing of minerals” such as coltan, a critical mineral used in its iPhones and other electronics. , where more than half of the global deposits are in the Congo.

The criminal complaint alleges that Apple purchased tantalum, an ore extracted from coltan, as well as tin, tungsten and gold – the so-called 3TG minerals – from mines whose profits fueled the war in eastern DRC and promotes child labor and environmental degradation. Millions of people have been displaced in the conflict where rape and killing of civilians is common.

Many of the minerals are confirmed to be from mines in non-conflict areas or from Rwanda. But the complaint says the so-called “bagging and tagging” certification process relied on by Apple and other electronics giants is deeply flawed and that minerals labeled as coming from Rwanda are, in fact, from Congolese mines.

“There is no technology company on Earth that does not know that everything bought from Rwanda is 90 percent Congolese for sure,” Robert Amsterdam, whose law firm represents the DRC, told the Financial Times.

In a report this month, the UN said Rwandan-backed rebels in eastern DRC “fraudulently exported” at least 150 metric tons of coltan to Rwanda last year, leading to what it called “the largest contamination” of the mineral supply chain in the region recorded.

The M23 rebels – which the UN, US, EU and Congo say are backed by Rwanda -, the report says, have gained control of several of the most important mines, “establishing a unified administration that controls the activities on mining, trade, transportation and taxes on minerals produced.”

Kigali has consistently denied supporting the M23 rebels or benefiting from what Kinshasa claims is $1bn a year lost from smuggled minerals.

In a March 2024 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Apple said: “We found no reasonable basis to conclude that any of 3TG’s smelters or refiners were determined to be in our supply chain. . . directly or indirectly funded or benefited from armed groups in the DRC.”

But in December, Apple said it was concerned that it was “no longer possible for independent auditors or industry certification mechanisms to perform the due diligence required to meet our high standards” and announced the its suppliers to suspend the acquisition of 3TG metals from the DRC or Rwanda. .

Amsterdam described the new search decision as a smoking gun. “It’s an admission that the supply chains are basically filled with fake minerals,” he said.

Apple is looking to increase the use of recycled minerals in its products, saying it aims to source 100 percent recycled cobalt for batteries this year.

Separately, lawyers acting for the DRC sought to persuade the EU to fight against Apple by sending a letter to Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, describing the agreement as a “farce”. in the bloc with Rwanda, signed in February, on the sustainable search for critical minerals.

“The EU signed an MOU with Rwanda to develop their 3TG mineral programs when anyone with a high school education knows that Rwanda has no minerals,” Amsterdam said. “Not only Apple but the EU itself is engaging in this sophistry.”

A spokesman for the commission said it was “seriously committed to ensuring transparency and traceability of critical raw materials at bilateral and multinational levels”.

One of the key objectives of its agreement with Rwanda is to “strengthen the fight against illegal trade in minerals”, they added.