Mining giant Glencore has pleaded guilty to bribery in a London court and will pay $1.5 billion to settle similar lawsuits with the US and Brazil.
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office said it had uncovered “profit-making bribery and corruption” at the company’s oil operations in five African countries.
Glencore will find out in June how much fines it owes the UK but is expected to pay around $500m (£400m).
It also agreed to pay fines of more than $1 billion in the US and $39 million in Brazil.
Glencore’s chairman said there had been “unacceptable practices” in relation to the seven counts of bribery to which it pleaded guilty in Westminster Magistrates’ Court.
The company’s agents and employees paid more than $25 million in bribes for preferential access to oil between 2011 and 2016, with the company’s approval, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
The bribes were paid in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan.
SFO Director Lisa Osofsky said, “We will continue to fight serious fraud, bribery and corruption and we look forward to the next steps in this major law enforcement effort.”
In 2018, the US Department of Justice (DoJ) opened an investigation into Glencore’s compliance with US anti-money laundering and anti-corruption laws, which date back to 2007. It covered the mining giant’s activities in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Venezuela.
- Coca-Cola Enterprises boss took £1.5million in bribes
- Record number of murdered environmental activists
The UK SFO followed suit in 2019, investigating one of Glencore’s UK subsidiaries over “suspicion of bribery” in Africa.
On Tuesday, the mining and commodities trading giant confirmed it had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act related to the group’s previous actions in certain foreign jurisdictions.
It also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit commodity price manipulation related to past market behavior in certain US heating oil markets.
As part of the plea deal with the DoJ, Glencore said an independent compliance monitor will be appointed for three years to review its “internal controls.”
It has also settled the Brazilian bribery allegations against it, but the Dutch and Swiss investigations are ongoing.
Chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi said: “Glencore today is not the company it was when the unacceptable practices behind this misconduct emerged.
“The Board and management team are committed to leading a company that creates value for all stakeholders by operating transparently around clearly defined values, with openness and integrity at the forefront.”
Spotlight on Corruption, an advocacy group, welcomed the charges but said it was crucial that those responsible for the wrongdoing, including officers and the parent company, were held accountable.
“It is also crucial that the $1.5 billion provided by Glencore to settle the investigation includes compensation for the victims of their alleged corruption in West Africa,” it said.
Add Comment