Jerusalem, 10 March, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Dutch prosecutors confirmed on that they do not intend to prosecute Israeli businessman Dan Gertler, according to a Netherlands Public Prosecution Service letter seen by The Press Service of Israel. The letter is the most significant development into a years-long Dutch investigation of payments made to a former official in the Democratic Republci of Congo over lucrative mining deals.
The letter to Gertler’s lawyers, said that authorities “will not prosecute your client Dan Gertler on the basis of the Samos file (case number 62864),” unless they are required to do so through a special legal procedure under Article 12 of the Dutch Code of Criminal Procedure. The letter was dated March 6 and signed by public prosecutor A.C. Schaafsma.
The letter did not provide reasons for the decision not to prosecute.
The Dutch investigation, known internally as “Samos,” dates back to around 2018, when authorities reportedly examined financial flows linked to mining deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) by the Fleurette Group — Gertler’s holding company — and Glencore, a Switzerland-based multinational commodities and mining company. The investigation focused on Fleurette’s efforts to obtain profitable mining licenses for cobalt and copper through what prosecutors said were tens of millions of dollars in illegal payments to Augustin Katumba, an advisor to then-president Laurent Kabila. Katumba was killed in a plane crash in 2012.
The inquiry examined allegations that transactions in Congo may have passed through European corporate structures, including companies registered in the Netherlands.
In an appendix attached to the penalty order, Fleurette said the evidence against it was unreliable. Fleurette added that it acted in good faith and believed the payments to Katumba were legal. The company cited legal opinions it received in Congo stating that, under local law, he was not considered a public servant.
Although Gertler avoids criminal prosecution, the Fleurette Group will pay a €25.8 million ($30 million) settlement.
Despite the letter, the Dutch decision is not entirely final.
Under Article 12 of the Dutch criminal procedure code, a party with a direct interest in a case, such as a victim, may ask a court of appeal to review a prosecutor’s decision not to bring charges. If the court agrees with the complaint, it can order prosecutors to proceed with a criminal case, though such procedures are relatively uncommon.
The development may pave the way for the removal of U.S. sanctions on Gertler. The billionaire has been subject to U.S. sanctions since 2017 under the Global Magnitsky Act, imposed by the U.S. Treasury Department over allegations related to corruption in Congo’s mining sector. U.S. President Donald Trump removed some of those sanctions during his first term but they were subsequently reinstated by the administration of then-president Joe Biden.
Gertler maintains he is innocent.