M23 Rebels Build War Economy Through Taxation and Mineral Extraction in Eastern DRC

In the cities and towns of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo that fell under M23 rebel control in early 2025, a new system of governance has taken root—one built not on legitimacy but on extraction. The Rwanda-backed insurgents have methodically constructed what amounts to a parallel state, complete with taxation, customs enforcement, and financial institutions, all designed to extract revenue from a population already hollowed out by war.

The M23 began its current push in 2021 and now controls territory where millions live. Their financing mechanism is straightforward and relentless: every truck passing through a checkpoint pays a fee; every motorbike taxi moving between towns pays a fee; every shop, warehouse, and informal trader pays taxes. Cross-border commerce in fuel, agricultural goods, timber, and manufactured products flowing to and from Rwanda and Uganda generates steady income. Individually modest, these levies accumulate into a predictable revenue stream that allows the rebels to maintain police forces, courts, migration offices, and customs operations—the machinery of a state, albeit an illegal one.

But the system contains a fundamental contradiction. A shop owner in Goma, the largest city in the east, described the paradox plainly: the M23 promised liberation, yet economically conditions have worsened. The airport sits closed. Banks have shut their doors on orders from the government in Kinshasa. Businesses have collapsed. People have no money to spend. Survival, not commerce, has become the baseline. When the rebels tax an economy already crippled by conflict and financial collapse, they risk destroying the very foundation their revenue depends on. A businessman who opened a drinks factory four years earlier watched it fail under the weight of M23 taxes and the cumulative cost of passing through multiple armed-group checkpoints. Under the previous administration, negotiation was possible; now, there is no one to appeal to.

Ordinary civilians bear the direct cost. They pay for water and electricity, for land titles and vehicle records—services either taken over by the M23 or run by private companies that pay the rebels a cut. In some areas, residents are conscripted for labor: unloading trucks, repairing roads, building structures, handing over portions of their harvest. The rebels cannot squeeze too hard without triggering complete economic collapse and losing what little legitimacy they possess, yet they must extract enough to pay fighters and maintain their administration.

To address the banking vacuum, the M23 attempted to revive CADECO, a public financial institution created in 1950. Branches opened in Goma and Bukavu, but they remain disconnected from the national banking system and cannot access SWIFT, the international transfer network. Residents, wary of losing their savings to an entity with no accountability, largely refused to open accounts. Last year, the rebels established AREFA, a financial regulatory body meant to function as a central bank, stabilize exchange rates, and increase the money supply. But unlike a real central bank, AREFA cannot issue currency or hold significant foreign reserves. Most transactions now route through Rwanda—an expensive workaround that benefits Rwandan intermediaries while draining the local economy.

Mineral wealth forms the second pillar of the M23 war economy. The Rubaya mines, among the world's largest sources of coltan, fall within rebel-controlled territory in North Kivu. Coltan is essential to electronics and technology manufactured globally—devices made by companies including Microsoft and Apple depend on it. Congolese miners extract it for a few dollars a day. Since the M23 took control in 2024, miners and traders deemed hostile to the rebels have been systematically sidelined; operating requires the movement's recognition. Coltan shipments are taxed at checkpoints west of Goma, with per-kilogram fees paid at a bank across the border in Rwanda. UN experts estimated in 2024 that the M23 collects around $800,000 monthly—nearly $10 million annually—from coltan levies alone.

The scale of mineral predation extends beyond taxation. Last year, the rebels seized Twangiza Mining, the largest gold mine in South Kivu, operated by a Chinese company. The company estimates the rebels looted gold worth approximately $70 million. Across North and South Kivu, the M23 controls trading and transport corridors linking mining areas to regional markets, creating powerful incentives to sustain the conflict indefinitely.

As rebel control has expanded, Rwandan businesses and networks have become increasingly dominant. In Rubaya, local miners noted that almost all traders now come from Rwanda, displacing Congolese businesspeople who previously dominated the coltan trade. A beer retailer in Goma described how supplies shifted from locally produced drinks to more expensive goods from Rwandan distributors tied to the rebel movement—a change that eliminated the rebates previously offered by Congolese producers. Once minerals cross into Rwanda, they are mixed with local production and rebranded as Rwandan, allowing them to enter global markets. In June 2026, the US government sanctioned executives of a major Rwandan gold refinery for taking gold from DRC with facilitation from Rwandan government forces. Coltan smuggling to Rwanda has reached unprecedented levels; Rwanda has become the world's leading coltan exporter despite minimal domestic production. International mineral traders who previously operated from North and South Kivu have obtained licenses to open offices in Kigali, finding it more advantageous to base operations there and access minerals once they have crossed the border and been relabeled.

For the millions of civilians caught between Kinshasa's financial blockade and the M23's expanding taxation system, the mineral wealth generates no relief. They struggle simply to survive, their labor and resources extracted to sustain a war economy that enriches a small network of rebels and their Rwandan backers while the broader economy deteriorates.