The story took on the contours of a thriller. Because since last Friday, the day of this mysterious arrest, the authorities of the Democratic Republic of Congo have not released any information.
The three men arrested
Three businessmen, including a Italian citizen, were arrested Friday morning by the Congolese authorities while they were at the airport of Lubumbashi, the capital of the south-eastern province of Haut Katanga. It is about Alexander Zingman, businessman with American passport, Belarusian, president and founder of the Belarusian company AFTrade, his colleague Oleg Vodchits and the Italian businessman Paolo Persico, of Milan according to the first information.
Loading…
Contacted via Zoom dal Sole 24 Ore Henadzi Mosesau, director of the representative office in Belarus of Af Trade Dmcc, thus explained what happened. “Mr. Zingaman had made meetings with local partners in the city of Lubumbashi. Once the meetings were over, when he arrived at the airport he was about to embark for Harare, when his passport was confiscated and placed in a room with his two colleagues for several hours without being able to sit down, without water, without contact with the outside world. “
“Despite numerous attempts made to find out about their state of health by families, by Af Trade as well as by investigations by the consulate of Zimbabwe and the United States – continued Henadzi Mosesau, since Friday there has been no sign of life so far. . No official arrest warrant has been issued. Nor has any explanation been given by the authorities for this affair ».
The moment of arrest
Fifty-four-year-old Zingman, who is also honorary consul in Belarus for Zimbabwe also holds a diplomatic passport. Very close to the Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko he has been working in Africa for fifteen years and has high-level contacts with political leaders of at least 15 African countries. Founder and owner of Af Trade, a company that works mainly in the agricultural sector, specializing in the trade of agricultural and mining machinery. He was in the Democratic Republic of Congo with Vodchits, Af Trade and Persico’s representative for Africa.