The Biden administration recently re-imposed sanctions on Israeli businessman Dan Gertler over alleged massive corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo's lucrative mining business. Journalist Franz Wild reports on his remarkable rise, and his alliance with former President Joseph Kabila which even saw him being appointed a Congolese diplomat. When the United States initially imposed sanctions on the mining magnate in 2017, he hired President Donald Trump's lawyer to get them removed. The sanctions had been introduced for his allegedly corrupt relationship with DR Congo's former President Joseph Kabila, helping him make a vast fortune from copper and cobalt deals in the country, something both men deny. A spokesperson for Mr Gertler has said that the allegations "have been unfairly and wrongly levelled against [him]" adding that "there is not a shred of reliable evidence with which to support them". Reprieve from Trump Over two decades, Mr Gertler, still only 47, became one of DR Congo's most powerful businessmen. He held sway over which multinational mining companies were lucky enough to mine the country's extraordinary reserves of copper, cobalt, tin, gold and diamonds. On occasion, Mr Gertler also became a key diplomatic emissary for Mr Kabila. Hiring Mr Trump's lawyer Alan Dershowitz proved successful as well. In its final days, the Trump administration granted Mr Gertler a so-called sanctions licence, which gave him access to his frozen funds and the international banking system for a year. In March, however, his fortunes reversed with dramatic speed. After an outcry at the sanctions licence from anti-corruption campaigners, members of the US Congress and former State Department officials, Mr Gertler became an early example of President Joe Biden's stated commitment to a principled foreign policy, including cracking down on international corruption. The administration withdrew the licence. "The licence previously granted to Mr Gertler is inconsistent with America's strong foreign policy interests in combatting corruption around the world," State Department spokesperson Ned Price said, adding that Gertler had "engaged in extensive corruption". Mr Dershowitz complained that the US had withdrawn the sanctions licence "unilaterally," without giving Mr Gertler an opportunity to prove that he was living up to the commitments he had given to allow an outside monitor to observe his business and to report his financial dealings. The power and influence the businessman wields and the symbolism of the sanctions were captured by the US statement. Sanctions were necessary "to counter corruption and promote stability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," Mr Price said. "The United States will continue to promote accountability for corrupt actors with all the tools at our disposal in order to advance democracy, uphold international norms and impose tangible costs on those who seek to upend them." In DR Congo, Mr Gertler acted as a middleman between the country and multinational companies and also managed companies on behalf of Mr Kabila, according to the US sanctions announcement. Now that President Felix Tshisekedi, in power since 2019, is gradually wresting Mr Kabila's control over DR Congo's political establishment, the US wants Mr Gertler contained too.