He got rich on Congo mines until bribe probe put future on hold

A 20-year friendship that helped turn Dan Gertler into a billionaire has left the Israeli businessman with a lot fewer places to go. The US government accused Gertler of corrupt mining and oil deals in the Democratic Republic of Congo and said he acted as a middle-man to enrich his longtime buddy, President Joseph Kabila. The two have been close since Gertler arrived as a young diamond merchant during a civil war in 1997, and Congo – one of Africa’s poorest countries – is the main source of his wealth.