Civil parties have alleged that nearly $60 million was diverted under the biometric-passport contract awarded to Semlex

A Brussels court has ordered Belgian biometrics company Semlex and 13 other defendants to stand trial over alleged corruption, money laundering, and tax fraud linked to a contract to produce passports for the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo).

The Brussels Council Chamber referred the defendants to a criminal court on Monday following an investigation lasting nearly nine years, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and Transparency International said in a joint statement. Both organizations joined the proceedings as civil parties.

A spokesperson for the Belgian Federal Prosecutor's Office said Semlex and an unspecified number of its employees have been referred for trial, according to Reuters. No trial date has been announced.

In May 2020, 51 Congolese citizens, supported by the 'Congo Is Not For Sale' coalition, filed a civil action to join the Belgian investigation into alleged foreign bribery, money laundering, and tax fraud linked to the Semlex passport contract. The International Federation for Human Rights, the Human Rights League, UNIS, Transparency International, and its Belgian branch later joined the proceedings as civil parties.

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Semlex produced DR Congo's biometric passports between 2015 and 2025. The deal almost doubled the cost of a passport to $185, with $60 from each document allegedly transferred to LRPS Ltd, a Dubai-based company reportedly linked to a relative of then-President Joseph Kabila. Kabila has not been accused in the Belgian proceedings, and the alleged connection between his associate and LRPS has not been conclusively established.

"We have a right to know where our money went," Congolese activist and claimant Fred Bauma said, adding that "this trial will finally shed light on the matter."

Semlex has not publicly commented on the court's decision. The company previously said it was the target of a smear campaign.

The case comes amid criticism from the Paris-based intergovernmental Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development over Belgium's limited prosecution of companies accused of bribing foreign officials. On Monday, Transparency International Belgiumcalledthe court's decision "historic." "For far too long, Belgium has fallen short of its commitments to combat international corruption," the non-profit group said.

In June 2025, the Congolese government replaced the Semlex passport system with a new $75 biometric passport produced by German firm Dermalog.

Passport-related corruption has also caused controversy elsewhere in Africa. Former Comoros President Ahmed Abdallah Sambi was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 over the illegal sale of passports under a citizenship program that prosecutors claimed had cost the country more than $1.8 billion.

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(RT.com)