A long-running controversy over the Democratic Republic of Congo’s biometric passport system has entered a potentially decisive phase after a Brussels court ordered Belgian biometrics company Semlex and 13 other defendants to stand trial over allegations including corruption, money laundering and tax fraud, Reuters reported.
The decision by Brussels’ Council Chamber on Monday marks a significant development in a case that has raised questions for years about the cost of Congolese passports, offshore payments and the enforcement of Belgium’s laws against corruption involving foreign public officials.
The allegations remain unproven, and the referral to trial does not amount to a finding of guilt. But for Congolese activists who have pursued the case, the decision offers an opportunity to move the controversy from years of allegations and investigations into open court proceedings where financial transactions and corporate relationships can be examined under judicial scrutiny.
Belgian federal prosecutors confirmed that Semlex and an unspecified number of its employees were among those referred to the criminal court. The prosecution did not provide further details about the defendants or the allegations.
The civil parties include 51 Congolese citizens and anti-corruption organizations that joined the criminal investigation in 2020. They argue that the case could become an important test of Belgium’s willingness to pursue alleged corruption involving its companies and public officials abroad.
Fred Bauma, a Congolese human rights activist and one of the claimants, described the decision as an opportunity for greater accountability.
“We have a right to know where our money went. This trial will finally shed light on the matter,” he said.
A passport contract under scrutiny
Semlex produced biometric passports for Congo from 2015 until 2025, during a period when the country faced persistent concerns over governance, public finances and the management of lucrative government contracts.
The passport agreement became particularly controversial after a 2017 Reuters investigation reported that the price of a Congolese passport had nearly doubled to $185 under the arrangement. Reuters also reported that $60 from the fee for each passport issued was paid to a Gulf-based company linked to a relative of then-President Joseph Kabila.
The investigation did not establish a conclusive link between that company and Kabila himself.
The civil parties now allege that almost $60 million was diverted through the scheme. The precise financial trail, however, remains one of the central questions awaiting examination in court.
That distinction matters. Offshore payments, politically connected business interests and unusually expensive government documents can raise serious red flags, but they do not automatically establish criminal liability. The coming proceedings will have to determine whether the transactions constituted bribery, money laundering, tax offences or legitimate commercial arrangements.
More than a corporate scandal
The case also exposes a broader problem surrounding public procurement in resource-rich but economically struggling countries.
Congo possesses enormous mineral wealth, yet remains among the world’s poorest countries in terms of GDP per capita. Against that backdrop, the passport controversy has resonated beyond the price of a travel document. For ordinary Congolese citizens, the issue is whether a government service can become an avenue for extracting wealth from the public while opaque intermediaries benefit.
The allegations also put Belgium’s own regulatory system under scrutiny.
For years, activists and international organizations, including the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, have criticized Belgium over what they regarded as limited enforcement of overseas corruption cases. A prosecution that reaches trial would therefore have significance beyond Semlex itself.
It could demonstrate that Belgian anti-corruption legislation can be used to examine the conduct of companies operating thousands of kilometers from Brussels, particularly where public contracts and politically connected networks are involved.
Semlex has previously rejected accusations against it, saying in a 2017 statement that it was the target of a smear campaign. The company did not respond to a fresh request for comment, while a lawyer who has previously represented it also declined to comment.
Kabila has not been directly associated with the case, according to a person close to the former president, and his relative has not responded to requests for comment.
For now, the next major question is when the trial will begin and what evidence will emerge. No date has been determined.
If the case proceeds as expected, the courtroom could finally provide what the controversy has lacked for nearly a decade: a detailed examination of where the passport money went, who benefited from the arrangement and whether the transactions crossed the line from questionable procurement into criminal conduct.