Israeli diamond trader Dan Gertler had provided services to the United States during the Liberian Civil War, exchanging US weapons for diamonds. But times have changed and now the United States have accused him of supporting Joseph Kabila in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

According to Bloomberg, Mossad director Yossi Cohen visited the DRC several times in 2019, meeting with former President Joseph Kabila without informing President Felix Tshisekedi.

Subsequently, Yossi Cohen and Ron Dermer, then Israel’s ambassador to Washington, allegedly put pressure on the Trump administration to have the sanctions hanging over the trader removed.

Ultimately, President Trump lifted them just before leaving, but have been reinstated by Janet Yellen, President Biden’s Treasury Secretary. In the meantime, Dan Gertler gained access to all of his overseas accounts, managing to empty them.