Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The International Monetary Fund asked two Democratic Republic of Congo state-owned miners for explanations of recent unannounced asset sales, according to documents on the website of the country’s Mines Ministry.

Earlier this year, Congo’s Gecamines sold its stakes in two mining projects run by Glencore International Plc to companies associated with Israeli businessman Dan Gertler without announcing the deal. In March, state-owned Sodimico sold its 30 percent stake in two mines formerly owned by First Quantum Minerals Ltd. to two companies registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Congo’s Mines Ministry published responses by Sodimico and Gecamines to the IMF’s inquiries on their website. The Central African nation is in the second year of a three-year, $561 million loan program backed by the IMF to reduce poverty and increase growth. IMF country representative Samir Jahjah didn’t answer his phone when called for comment today.

--Editors: Paul Richardson, Alastair Reed

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael J. Kavanagh in Kinshasa at mkavanagh9@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Antony Sguazzin at asguazzin@bloomberg.net; Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net