Christoph Huber, a Swiss national, has been accused of pillaging mineral resources from the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) during the Second Congo War (1998-2003). Despite his elusive presence, an investigation by Open Secrets has confirmed Huber’s residence in South Africa. Huber owns four properties in the Western Cape, valued at R25.7-million ($1.4-million).
Since the 1990s, Huber has been accused by multiple human rights organizations of exploiting the DRC’s mineral resources during war. A 2016 criminal complaint by Trial International and the Open Society Justice Initiative accuses Huber of pillaging, a war crime. If indicted by Swiss authorities, it would mark the first trial of a corporate actor for pillaging since the Nuremberg trials.
Open Secrets’ investigation into Huber’s South African properties was published in issue 167 of The Continent.
