By John Ikani
Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company, Glencore, has pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery in a London court.
The firm also said it will pay more than $1bn (£800m) to resolve similar claims with the US and Brazil.
The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said it had exposed “profit-driven bribery and corruption” across Glencore Energy UK’s oil operations in five African nations.
The company’s agents and employees paid bribes worth over $25m for preferential access to oil, with approval by the company between 2011 and 2016, the SFO said.
The bribes were paid in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan, it added.
In Nigeria, Money paid as bribes to secure oil contracts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited were used to fund the 2019 elections.
Court documents seen by Heritage Times HT in July 2021, also revealed how Glencore paid bribes “in connection with a then-upcoming political election” in 2014.
Months later, the then ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which had held power in Nigeria since the restoration of democracy in 1999 lost legislative and presidential elections that took place in March 2015.
Following its plea of guilt, Glencore will find how much it must pay in fines at a sentencing in June.
SFO Director Lisa Osofsky said: “We won’t stop fighting serious fraud, bribery and corruption, and we look forward to the next steps in this major prosecution.”
In his comments Glencore’s Chairman, Kalidas Madhavpeddi said: “Glencore today is not the company it was when the unacceptable practices behind this misconduct occurred.
“The board and the management team are committed to operating a company that creates value for all stakeholders by operating transparently under a well-defined set of values, with openness and integrity at the forefront.”
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