Dan Gertler's royalty claims are holding up a $9 billion Western bid for Glencore's copper and cobalt mines in Congo

Published: Mar 26, 2026 01:32

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The royalty claims of Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler are holding up a $9 billion acquisition bid by the U.S.-backed Orion Critical Minerals Consortium for Glencore’s copper and cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Gertler has been under U.S. Treasury sanctions since 2017. He obtained mining interests years ago through his ties to the former president of the DRC and still retains royalty entitlements from the two mines today. Although Glencore reached a settlement with him in 2018 and switched to euro payments to avoid violating U.S. sanctions, the underlying interests have remained unresolved. For bidders backed by U.S. government capital, indirect links to a sanctioned individual pose compliance and reputational risks, which have stalled the progress of the deal.

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