French prosecutors dropped a criminal complaint by the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) against Apple in mid-February saying the allegations were not ‘well-founded’, new reports indicate.
In December, the DRC’s justice minister filed the complaints against Apple subsidiaries in Belgium and France.The case stemmed from the use of minerals critical to smartphones and computers, which DRC alleged were sourced from armed groups.DRC lawyers have said they will appeal, and the original case is still being investigated by a magistrate in Belgium.
In a statement after filing the complaint, DRC’s lawyers said that the critical minerals- tantalum, tin, and tungsten-in Apple’s supply chain were sourced from conflict areas. They alleged that this had escalated a cycle of violence and conflict and contributed to forced child labour and environmental devastation.
In a rejoinder, Apple said that it had asked suppliers to suspend sourcing the critical minerals, including gold, from both the DRC and Rwanda. ““We took this action because we were concerned it was no longer possible for independent auditors or industry certification mechanisms to perform the due diligence required to meet our high standards,” the company said in a statement.
The heart of the DRC’s complaint was about money laundering within the supply chain, which rights groups have said encourages smuggling through the DRC’s neighbours and onto international markets.
“In 2023, we removed from our supply chain 14 smelters and refiners that were not willing to participate in, or complete, a third party audit or that did not otherwise meet Apple’s requirements for the responsible sourcing of minerals,” Apple had said in disclosures to the Securities Exchange Commission. It said that none of its suppliers as at the end of 2023 “directly or indirectly financed or benefited armed groups in the DRC or an adjoining country.”
It also said that it had continued to fund a whistleblowing mechanism run by a traceability program in the country that allows people to call anonymously and raise concern about the mineral extraction and in-country supply chain.
While the Paris prosecutor’s office dropped the case, it invited the DRC to contact a different office “with jurisdiction over war crimes,” according to a Reuters report.