Apple is now the subject of a criminal probe that it knowingly sourced “blood minerals” from the Democratic Republic of Congo for use in its devices.

Belgium has begun the probe and appointed a judge to oversee the investigation after Congo filed criminal complaints in France and Belgium last month against subsidiaries of the company, accusing it of using conflict minerals.

Lawyers for the DRC allege that the tin, tantalum and tungsten minerals are taken from conflict areas and then “laundered through international supply chains”.

“These activities have fuelled a cycle of violence and conflict by financing militias and terrorist groups and have contributed to forced child labour and environmental devastation.”

 

Apple has disputed the allegations. A spokesman for the company told the BBC last month, “As conflict in the region escalated earlier this year we notified our suppliers that their smelters and refiners must suspend sourcing tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold from 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.”

Robert Amsterdam, whose law firm is representing DRC, characterised the new sourcing decision as a smoking gun. “It’s an admission that the supply chains are basically infiltrated with bogus minerals,” he told the Financial Times.

Coltan, one of the minerals in question, is a critical mineral used in iPhones and other electronics, and more than half of world’s known deposits are found in Congo.

 

Many of the minerals are certified to have come from mines in non-conflict areas or from Rwanda.

But the complaint alleges that the so-called “bagging and tagging” certification process on which companies such as Apple rely is flawed and that minerals labelled as coming from Rwanda are actually sourced from Congolese mines.

“There is no tech company on Earth that doesn’t know that everything purchased from Rwanda is 90 per cent sure to be Congolese,” said Amsterdam.

Rwanda has previously described the DRC’s government’s legal action against Apple as a media stunt.

However, the UN said in a report this month that Rwandan-backed rebels in eastern DRC “fraudulently exported” at least 150 metric tons of coltan to Rwanda last year, leading to what it called “the largest contamination” of the region’s mineral supply chain on record.

That report added that M23 rebels — which the UN, US, EU and Congo claim are backed by Rwanda — had gained control over many of the most important mines, “establishing a parallel administration controlling mining activities, trade, transport and the taxation of minerals produced”.