A forensic investigation has uncovered an alleged $144 million misappropriation scheme at Jinchuan’s Congo mining operations…reports Africa Daily News Desk
A major forensic investigation into Jinchuan Group International Resources Co. Ltd has uncovered an alleged misappropriation scheme involving more than $144 million at its Ruashi Mine operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, exposing serious internal control failures, questionable payments and suspected fraud involving former senior finance staff.
According to the company’s final forensic report released in Hong Kong, investigators found evidence suggesting that various employees at Ruashi Mine exploited weak oversight systems and manipulated procurement and payment processes over several years to divert company funds through transactions with no apparent business purpose.
The investigation was launched after complaints were received between late 2023 and early 2024 concerning suspicious payments linked to the company’s Congo based mining operations. The probe examined transactions made between January 2016 and March 2025 and reviewed payments totalling approximately $265.5 million.
The forensic report found that around $144.5 million in payments lacked any clear business justification. This included $137.4 million paid to 12 suppliers between 2019 and 2024, as well as $7.1 million transferred directly into the personal bank account of an employee identified in the report as “Employee F”.
Investigators concluded that the alleged scheme was primarily orchestrated by two senior former finance executives at Ruashi Mine, referred to as Employee D and Employee E, who allegedly used their positions to override payment controls and disguise fraudulent transactions as legitimate mining and operational expenses.
The forensic accountants discovered internal allocation schedules and editable invoice templates stored on company devices, which they said appeared to document how funds were distributed among certain employees and suppliers involved in the scheme. The investigation also uncovered allegedly fabricated supplier invoices and altered bank statements.
According to the report, approximately 96 per cent of the suspicious payments were made between November 2020 and April 2024, a period that coincided with Employee D serving as chief financial officer of Ruashi Mine.
The company said the suspected fraud was made possible by weak internal oversight, poor record retention practices and the concentration of operational and financial control among a small group of local staff at the mine.
Investigators noted that Ruashi Mine frequently failed to comply with its own procurement procedures, including onboarding checks for suppliers and documentation requirements for transactions. In several cases, suppliers were not properly registered in the company’s accounting systems and key records such as contracts, invoices and delivery notes were either incomplete or missing.
Beyond the alleged fraud, the forensic report also highlighted controversial payments linked to government related affairs in Congo. Investigators found that Ruashi Mine paid around $66.8 million either directly or indirectly to a third party agent known as GFS, which was hired to assist with disputes involving taxes, penalties and regulatory claims from Congolese authorities.
Much of the money was reportedly transferred in cash through intermediaries rather than through direct bank transfers, raising additional compliance concerns. The report stated that while there was no evidence that company employees instructed the agent to make illegal payments to government officials, the payment arrangements reflected serious weaknesses in governance and internal controls.
The company’s Special Investigation Committee said the alleged misappropriation appeared to be the result of misconduct by specific employees rather than direct involvement by the wider management of Jinchuan Group International Resources. Investigators said they found no documentary evidence suggesting senior company executives had prior knowledge of the fraud.
The board of the company has endorsed the findings of the forensic investigation and announced a series of remedial measures aimed at strengthening internal controls and corporate governance.
The company said Ruashi Mine had already reported the matter to prosecutors in Congo and that legal action would be pursued against individuals implicated in the alleged scheme. Several employees connected to the investigation have either left the company, been dismissed or suspended from their positions.
Jinchuan also said it had appointed an internal control consultant to review procurement and payment systems and would introduce stricter compliance measures, including tighter oversight of supplier onboarding, stronger payment approvals and a ban on using personal bank accounts or cash to settle corporate transactions.
Despite the scale of the alleged fraud, the company said the financial impact would mainly involve reclassifying the misappropriated sums as “other losses” in previous financial statements and would not materially alter its overall financial position.
Trading in the company’s shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange has remained suspended since March 2025 and will continue to be halted until further notice.
