Biden may revoke Trump's last minute sanctions reprieve on billionaire Magnitsky violator

[Tanuki]

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-03/house-democrats-urge-yellen-to-reinstate-gertler-sanctions

"The Biden administration is expected to reverse an 11th-hour move by the Trump administration to temporarily ease sanctions on Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler following an uproar among U.S. lawmakers and government officials left out of the decision-making process, two people familiar with the matter said.

The U.S. sanctioned Gertler, 47, and his companies in 2017 for allegedly corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But in his final days in office, President Donald Trump’s Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, issued a license which, while not lifting the sanctions against Gertler, exempted his business activities from them until Jan. 31, 2022.
....
Defense attorney Alan Dershowitz, whom Gertler hired to help him get removed from the sanctions list, said he hoped his legal team would get a chance to explain why the license was justified. Dershowitz defended Trump in his 2020 Senate impeachment trial.
...
At the time of Gertler’s sanctioning, the Treasury said he worked as a middleman between multinational companies and the Congolese state and on behalf of former President Joseph Kabila. The State Department’s Africa bureau was opposed to the decision to ease the sanctions against him."
....(more)

[dalton99a]

1. Do it.

[JI7]

2. I wonder how much money Trump got for doing this . And yes, Biden should reverse it .

[Tanuki]

3. Why Gertler was sanctioned in the first place:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/02/03/us-backtracks-fight-against-graft-congo

..."The US government had sanctioned Gertler for helping Congo’s former president, Joseph Kabila, loot his country’s resources. He was added to the very first Global Magnitsky sanctions list in December 2017 for “opaque and corrupt mining and oil deals in [Congo].” Last month, the US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) discreetly signed a license allowing Gertler and his companies to access the US financial system until January 31, 2022. Putting him back in business not only undermines the fight against corruption in Congo but also emboldens those ready to enrich themselves at the expense of Congolese people’s human rights. It also raises questions about the implementation of the Magnitsky sanctions, an important element of the US arsenal to promote human rights abroad.

The US found that Gertler, who nurtured a close friendship with Kabila and his family for over two decades, was acting as a middleman for deals between Kabila and oil companies that reportedly deprived Congo of US$1.63 billion between 2010 and 2012 alone. This loss in revenue could have funded about half of the country’s health budget, which was already far lower than regional standards, and a minimum of adequate health care, according to a World Health Organization-supported study.

Such gross corruption is a key reason why successive Congolese governments have largely failed to harness the potential of its vast natural resources for the benefit of its people. Most Congolese live in extreme poverty, nearly half of children are malnourished, and only one in five homes have access to sanitation. It might also explain why Kabila refused to step down from the presidency when his constitutionally mandated two-term limit ended in December 2016. When the stakes are this high, this kind of corruption can undermine the democratic process."....(more)

[UTUSN]

4. Taking just a few weeks to reverse the DRUMPF damage. Next, we need to legislate it all irreversibly

[Blue Owl]

5. K&R

[mopinko]

6. now charge him w bribery, cuz you know he bought that deal.

[LiberalFighter]

7. Something needs to be done about Dershowitz.