EXCLUSIVE: Congolese whistleblowers face death and exile over North Korea leaks | NK News
NK News Logo
October 03, 2026Oct 03, 2026

Weapon Directory

Features

EXCLUSIVE: Congolese whistleblowers face death and exile over North Korea leaks

Navy Malela and Gradi Koko say evidence they found undergirds US sanctions. Now they want recognition and protection.

By their own account, the auditors Navy Malela and Gradi Koko enjoyed a comfortable life in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Their children went to good schools, and they earned more than enough to cover their expenses. “It was a good life,” Koko told NK News.

All of that changed when the two leaked thousands of internal bank documents that laid bare a wide range of financial crimes — including evidence linking their employer to North Korea-controlled entities operating in Africa. 

Now, some three years later, the two whistleblowers say they have received death sentences in their home