In 2023, the US banned three Congolese public officials and their wives from entering the country, claiming that the three had falsified permits to traffic protected species in exchange for bribes. According to a public statement, the officials abused their public positions by trafficking chimpanzees, gorillas, okapi, and other protected wildlife to destinations including China. The officials included current and former heads of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo Management Authority for CITES. Furthermore, one of the officers was previously suspended from the ICCN in 2021 for allegedly being involved in mismanagement and serious breaches of statutory duties, demonstrating a history of misbehaviour and the prevalence of corruption in relation to illegal wildlife trade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.