Belgian Court Orders Trial Over Alleged Corruption in DR Congo Passport Deal
A Brussels court has ordered Belgian biometric technology company Semlex and 13 other defendants to stand trial over alleged corruption, money laundering and tax fraud linked to a contract to produce biometric passports for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The decision was made by the Brussels Council Chamber on Monday after an investigation that has lasted nearly nine years. Belgium’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that Semlex and an unspecified number of its employees were among those referred to the criminal court. The allegations have not been proven.
Semlex produced Congolese biometric passports between 2015 and 2025. The case centres on allegations that money generated from the passport contract was diverted through offshore companies. Civil parties in the case allege that nearly $60 million may have been misappropriated.
According to documents cited by the civil parties, Congolese passports sold for about $185 each, with $60 allegedly transferred to a Dubai-based company, LRPS Ltd, said to be linked to an associate or relative of former Congolese President Joseph Kabila. Authorities have not conclusively established the alleged connection between the company and Kabila’s relative. Kabila himself is not directly associated with the case, according to a person close to the former president.
The case was brought to greater prominence after 51 Congolese citizens and anti-corruption organisations joined the Belgian proceedings as civil parties in 2020. Groups including Transparency International Belgium and the International Federation for Human Rights have welcomed the decision to proceed to trial.
For many Congolese citizens, the case is about more than a passport contract. The allegations concern money paid by ordinary citizens for essential identity documents in a country where corruption and weak public accountability have remained major concerns.
The trial could also become a significant test of Belgium’s willingness to prosecute alleged corruption involving companies operating abroad. Civil society groups describe it as the first time a Belgian company is being brought before a criminal court over alleged bribery of foreign public officials, although Reuters said it could not independently confirm that distinction.
A trial date has not yet been announced. Until then, all defendants remain presumed innocent.
