(Undated) — Former NBA great Dikembe Mutombo is being implicated in a shady gold deal involving a Congo warlord. ABC News reports a United Nations investigation found Mutombo, along with a Houston-based oil company owner and another investor, planned to buy a thousand pounds of gold from mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central Africa. They expected to resell it for ten-million dollars. Mutombo and the other investors never received the gold, and UN officials say millions of dollars ended up in the hands of a militia leader wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court in the Hague.
UN investigators say they believe Mutombo was unaware of the warlord’s involvement in the deal. However, they say he should have looked into the matter further before going ahead with the investment. The seven-foot-two Mutombo previously played for the Houston Rockets and the Atlanta Hawks. He’s also been involved in several humanitarian projects in his native Congo.
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Ari Cohn/at GA) TX)
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Metro Networks Inc.
01-25-2012 01:20:20
