Dikembe Mutombo is being investigated for his part in a gold-smuggling scheme in his native Democratic Republic of Congo, which could have been worth as much as $10 million dollars.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Mutombo was working with Kase Lawal, a Houston energy company chairman, to smuggle 1,045 pounds of Congolese gold out of Africa and into the United States in November 2010. Due to internal sanctions in the country, the gold could not be exported in the usual manner, so Mutombo is allegedly responsible for seeking out a third party to help move it discreetly.
The timing of the transaction is all the more surprising because Mutombo had reportedly met with U.S. State Department officials two weeks earlier, to bring more attention to the conflict caused by the trade of his country's precious materials.
Another man reportedly involved in the deal, Lawal's friend Carlos St. Mary, described the deal as legal in Kenya and also named Mutombo and his family as ringleaders and planners in the failed smuggling plot.
Mutombo has made headlines around the globe for his charity work, but the former NBA All-Star declined to comment when reached by the Chronicle.
At this time, it appears that Mutombo is not in any legal trouble, but the scam did end with the arrest of several employees working for Lawal's Houston-based company.
