Alexander Zingman, alleged arms dealer and business mogul closely linked to Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko has been arrested by Congolese police in Lubumbashi. He was arrested on Wednesday after meeting with former president Joseph Kabila.
After meeting Kabila, Zingman flew from Kinshasa to Lubumbashi, where he was questioned by police about his business in the DRC. He was subsequently arrested for being unable to respond to inquiries from security agents. Zingman who holds US and Belarus citizenship has been previously cited in media investigations in connection with arms deals in Zambia and Zimbabwe. Accusations which he roundly denied.
Congolese sources say the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Zimbabwe were both seeking his release. However, the Congolese official said, they were “holding on to him for now”.
Another source said Zingman had offered to sell weapons to the former president, whose relations with his successor are said to be tense. The source said there was no evidence that Kabila initiated the meeting or agreed to any arms deals.
In 2020, Zingman threatened to sue the Zambian newspaper Digger News after it published pictures of him meeting at the Zambian Embassy in Moscow with President Edgar Lungu and the top brass of the Zambian military. The delegation included Defence Permanent Secretary Sturdy Mwale, and Zambia Air Force Commander Lieutenant-General David Muma.
Zingman has been photographed many times with Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has been on Zingman’s private jet. He is Zimbabwe’s honorary consul to Belarus.
Zingman brokered a meeting between the president and Lungu and Alexander Mikheev, president of Rosoboronexport, the Russian state-owned arms exporting company.
