Glencore, the commodities trading giant, has agreed to pay a $1bn (£800m) settlement in the US and indicated it will plead guilty to seven counts of bribery in the UK related to its oil operations in Africa. The FTSE 100 company will pay $700m to resolve US bribery investigations and $485m to settle market manipulation probes, with some reductions anticipated for settlements in other countries.
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced that a Glencore subsidiary would plead guilty to charges at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London on Tuesday. The SFO alleged that Glencore engaged in “profit-driven bribery and corruption across the company’s oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan,” with agents and employees paying bribes worth over $25m for preferential access to oil, approved by the company.
The charges stem from investigations by US and UK authorities, initiated in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Glencore had previously set aside $1.5bn to cover potential fines and costs related to bribery and corruption probes in the UK, US, and Brazil. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for 21 June, where the final payments will be determined, though Glencore expects total fines not to exceed the $1.5bn provision.
SFO Director Lisa Osofsky stated: “This significant investigation… is the result of our expertise, our tenacity and the strength of our partnership with the US and other jurisdictions. We won’t stop fighting serious fraud, bribery and corruption.” Glencore Chair Kalidas Madhavpeddi commented: “Glencore today is not the company it was when the unacceptable practices behind this misconduct occurred.”
Campaign group Spotlight on Corruption welcomed the charges but stressed the need for compensation for victims in West Africa and accountability for senior executives. The group also noted the potential risk of Glencore being debarred from public contracts as a first corporate conviction under the Bribery Act.
