Democratic Republic of Congo President Felix Tshisekedi denounced what he called a deliberate "plot" targeting his family in view of investigations in Belgium into money laundering allegations involving mining revenues, according to a video released Sunday by his office.

The remarks came about two weeks after Belgian police searched several properties in Brussels and the provinces of Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant as part of a money laundering investigation reportedly involving family members and associates of Tshisekedi.

Addressing members of the Congolese diaspora in Russia, Tshisekedi accused his political opponents of launching a “smear campaign” against him with the aim of tarnishing his image.

He said that no implicating evidence has been made public so far following the searches.

“To this day, I am waiting to be told what was found during these searches,” he added.

It was Tshisekedi's first public comments since Belgian police last month raided houses of several of his relatives in Brussels as part of an investigation into allegations of money laundering involving Congolese mining revenues.

The property raids came after a judicial investigation launched at the federal prosecutor's request following complaints filed by non-governmental organizations in July 2025.

Rejecting the allegations, the Congolese leader said he has already hired a team of lawyers to respond to the accusations.

He claimed that those responsible for the plundering of the region’s mineral wealth are well known. (AA)