The former head of DR Congo's wildlife agency and two ex-colleagues have been placed on the US sanctions list for trafficking in gorillas, chimps and other protected species.
The three have been barred from entering the US, according to a US State Department communique released on Wednesday.
The measure applies to Cosma Wilungula, former director general of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN); Leonard Muamba Kanda, DR Congo's former head for managing commitments under the Convention on International Trade in Endange red Species (CITES) and ICCN director; and Augustin Ngumbi Amuri, a CITES coordinator and legal advisor to the ICCN.
"As public officials responsible for wildlife protection, they abused their public positions by trafficking chimpanzees, gorillas, okapi, and other protected wildlife from the DRC, primarily to the People’s Republic of China, using falsified permits, in return for bribes," the statement said.
"Their corrupt, transnational criminal actions not only undermined rule of law and government transparency in the DRC but also long-standing wildlife conservation efforts."
Wilungula spent 16 years at the head of the ICCN - an agency tasked with managing the Democratic Republic of Congo's wildlife parks - before being suspended for "poor management" in August 2021 by Environment Minister Eve Bazaiba.
Similar punishments were handed out to all the other members of the ICCN's administrative board. Their positions were later filled by fresh appointees.
