Democratic Republic of Congo has launched a probe into the embezzlement of over $300 million from state miner Gecamines between 2012 and 2020, the justice ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Gecamines, which holds minority stakes in several of the world's largest copper and cobalt projects, has long been dogged by accusations of corruption made by non-governmental organisations and opposition politicians.

Congo's public finances watchdog, the General Inspectorate of Finances (IGF), found in 2022 that more than $400 million in tax advances and loans that Gecamines said it paid to the national treasury could not be found.

It said in a report at the time that the missing $413 million were presumed to have been misappropriated and that auditors would continue their investigations.

Gecamines has consistently denied wrongdoing. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

The IGF had also found in a separate audit on the finances of Congo's central bank that Gecamines had embezzled advance tax payments worth around $315 million between 2012 and 2020.

Congo's justice ministry said in a statement on Saturday that it had instructed the public prosecutor to open a court case against those responsible for the "misappropriation of public funds" flagged by the IGF.

It said there would be a particular focus on the embezzlement of advance tax payments worth around $315 million between 2012 and 2020.

"International arrest warrants have been issued for the accused and forwarded to the judicial authorities of several countries for their arrest," the statement said, without citing any names.