Glencore accused of bribery in the UK

Glencore to stand trial for corruption in London: Britain’s criminal investigation agency, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), has brought charges against the miner in seven bribery cases in connection with its oil deals in five African countries.

This was announced by the Serious Fraud Office in a statement released Tuesday after a hearing in Westminster Magistrates’ Court. The Serious Fraud Office wrote that at the hearing, Glencore said it would plead guilty to all charges. The court hearing will take place at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday, June 21.

The Serious Fraud Office began its investigation in June 2019. In the report, investigators uncovered bribery and corruption in the company’s oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan for profit. “The Office of Counter-Terrorism understands that Glencore officials and employees paid more than $25 million in kickbacks to obtain preference for oil, with the company’s approval.”

The Federal Prosecutor’s Office is also involved

The Office of Organized Crimes also cooperated in its investigation with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office in Bern and the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina stated in June 2020 that in the course of investigations and after examining, among other things, a criminal complaint received in December 2017, it initially opened criminal proceedings at the beginning of May 2019 on suspicion of bribing foreign officials against another person. The “unknown offender”.

And in June 2020, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office opened a second criminal case “in this context”. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina said at the time that this was directed against Glencore International due to “suspected criminal liability of the company”.

Also actions in the United States

At the same time, there is also an operation in the USA. In the summer of 2018, the US Department of Justice summoned the US subsidiary of the mining company. The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested that documents and other documents be submitted. The US judiciary wanted to know if anti-corruption and anti-money laundering laws were being adhered to.

However, Glencore said at the time that the documents requested relate to the group’s operations in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela from 2007 to that date.

In addition, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) became active in the US in the spring of 2019. The commodity regulator is also investigating whether Glencore has violated any terms or regulations through corrupt practices. These are believed to address the same issues that are already at the heart of the US Department of Justice investigation.

Saving 1.5 billion

Glencore announced in mid-February 2022 that it expects to complete investigations in the United States, Great Britain and Brazil this year. The group set aside $1.5 billion for this at the end of 2021. Glencore did not explain what the investigation was about. (sda/awp)

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