Facts
Christoph Huber, a Swiss and South African national, allegedly dealt natural resources with the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie-Goma (Rally for Congolese Democracy–Goma, or RCD-Goma), a Rwandan-backed armed group controlling large portions of Eastern Congo during the Second Congo War (1998-2003). In 2001, the company he represented was granted four mining concessions by RCD-Goma, including guarantees of protection by soldiers of the armed group.
In a 2009 United Nations report from experts on the DRC, Huber was accused of being involved in the large-scale transport of coltan out of DRC and Rwanda when RCD-Goma occupied much of Eastern Congo during the Second Congo War.
Procedure
TRIAL International and the Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) started investigating the case in 2013. The two organizations filed a criminal denunciation in November 2016 against Huber for his alleged involvement in the illegal exploitation and trade of minerals from Eastern parts of the DRC controlled by the RCD-Goma during the Second Congo War, activities that could be incriminated as the war crime of pillage.
The Office of the Attorney General opened a criminal investigation in March 2018. The case was made public in 2019.