DRC: Beveraggi versus Katumbi, a legal battle that has reached a decisive turning point

For several years, Pascal Beveraggi, owner of the Emirati group OCTAVIA and its operating company NB MINING AFRICA, also known for discreet activities in online gaming and the world of casinos in Congo, Madagascar and Morocco, has been engaged in a legal war against Moïse Katumbi, an influential Congolese politician who owns the company ASTALIA, registered in Mauritius and its operating company MCK Trucks in the DRC.

This conflict, which spans several international jurisdictions, concerns strategic mining assets in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The recent judgment rendered on October 4, 2024, by the Kinshasa/Gombe High Court constitutes a decisive victory for Beveraggi in this complex case, marked by individual attacks, accusations of fraud, illegal seizures, and political maneuvering.

A context of fraud and plunder

The case has its roots in 2015, when NECOTRANS, a French group specializing in logistics in Africa, acquired MCK, the operating company of Astalia owned by Katumbi, which operates mines in the Katanga region in particular.

NECOTRANS then approached Pascal Beveraggi for his expertise in the field, and asked him to take over as Chairman of the Board of Directors of NB MINING (formerly MCK), while Grégory Quérel, Chairman of NECOTRANS, remained Managing Director of the company.
However, due to a general climate unfavorable to Moïse Katumbi at the time, a wave of tax and customs reprisals hit the company a few days after its sale, threatening its existence.

The situation worsened in 2017 when NECOTRANS, struggling with financial difficulties in its other activities, was placed under court-ordered administration in Paris. Beveraggi, best positioned to avert economic disaster at that time, positioned himself to acquire NECOTRANS' mining assets through his OCTAVIA group. Katumbi, then in exile, demanded tens of millions of dollars and saw it as an opportunity to reclaim the company he had sold two years earlier. But after several twists and turns, it was indeed Pascal Beveraggi who took possession of the company, which would henceforth be called NB MINING AFRICA.

An international legal battle

One of the distinctive features of this case lies in its international dimension. The two parties have clashed in several jurisdictions, notably in Paris, Dubai, and the DRC. In 2018, OCTAVIA acquired NB MINING's assets following a favorable ruling by the French courts.

But Katumbi, bolstered by his growing political influence upon his return to the DRC in 2019, resumed hostilities. Indeed, at that time, taking advantage of the political context, the former governor of Katanga found himself integrated by Félix Tshisekedi, the newly elected president of the DRC, into a grand national union, and sought to regain influence, particularly in the economic and judicial spheres.

In August 2020, a Kolwezi court, in a ruling later deemed fraudulent due to the opposing party's failure to summons and present a defense, ordered OCTAVIA to pay $70 million to ASTALIA, subject to a non-enforcement clause. This decision, rendered without Beveraggi or his representatives being present at the trial, was followed by illegal seizures orchestrated by ASTALIA with the assistance of the military, leading to violent clashes and the deaths of two NB MINING AFRICA employees. The seized assets also included financial assets held in institutions such as ECOBANK, GECAMINES, and RUASHI MINING, totaling $15 million.

The production of fraudulent documents didn't stop there: in 2022, Katumbi went as far as Dubai to try to enforce his sham Kolwezi judgment, seizing all of OCTAVIA's assets in the Emirates. Beveraggi won this legal battle again in the Emirati courts, on appeal and in the Supreme Court, proving that the documents used by Katumbi were forgeries.

The judgment of October 4, 2024: a decisive turning point

The judgment rendered in October 2024 by the Kinshasa/Gombe Court thus marks a decisive turning point in this case. This judgment ordered Ecobank DRC to pay $5.5 million in damages to NB Mining Africa and Octavia for breach of trust, having facilitated illegal transactions orchestrated by Astalia and MCK. The court also found two Ecobank executives, Alain Serge Mungimur (Legal Director) and Sengo Auguste (Operations Director), guilty of embezzling more than $5 million through a forged power of attorney produced by Astalia.

This decision significantly strengthens Beveraggi's position, as he had already won all his lawsuits in this case across three continents. It allows OCTAVIA and NB MINING AFRICA to demand the return of the illegally seized funds and assets, while also confirming ECOBANK and ASTALIA's involvement in fraudulent and breach-of-trust practices.

A major political and economic impact

Beyond the legal implications, this ruling has major political and economic repercussions in the DRC. Moïse Katumbi, former governor of Katanga and a leading political figure, currently embroiled in turmoil in his region, has long benefited from political protection, which has allowed him to circumvent or even orchestrate several court decisions. However, Beveraggi's victory could weaken Katumbi's position and limit his influence over the mining sector, one of the country's most strategic.

Furthermore, the conviction of ECOBANK highlights the role played by certain financial institutions in facilitating fraudulent maneuvers and illicit transfers, opening the way for possible further investigations into the complicity of banks in this type of financial scandal.

Outlook for NB MINING AFRICA and OCTAVIA

While this legal victory is a crucial step for Pascal Beveraggi and his companies, the actual implementation of the judgment remains uncertain. In the DRC, the enforcement of court decisions is often hampered by political factors, local complicity, and bureaucratic delays. Beveraggi and OCTAVIA will therefore have to redouble their efforts to obtain the return of the seized assets and ensure that the judgments are effectively enforced.

This case, emblematic of the challenges of investing in the DRC, illustrates the legal and political complexities of the Congolese mining sector. Although the court rulings are favorable to Beveraggi, the path to a genuine resolution remains complicated in a country where the enforcement of court decisions is still subject to power struggles and pervasive corruption.