The UK Serious Fraud Office on Tuesday said it had charged a subsidiary of Swiss miner Glencore with seven counts of bribery in connection with its oil operations in sub-Saharan Africa.
SFO investigators launched a probe, codenamed Operation Azoth, in June 2019 into the company’s activities in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan.
The SFO charges that Glencore agents and employees paid bribes worth more than $25 million for preferential access to oil, with the approval of the company.
US, Dutch and Swiss prosecutors were brought into the investigation.
The SFO said Glencore indicated at a court hearing in central London on Tuesday that it would plead guilty to all seven charges under anti-bribery legislation.
The case was adjourned until a sentencing hearing on June 21, also in London, it added.
‘This significant investigation, which the Serious Fraud Office has brought to court in less than three years, is the result of our expertise, our tenacity and the strength of our partnership with the US and other jurisdiction,’ SFO director Lisa Osofsky said.
Operation Azoth investigated Glencore UK Ltd and its 100% owned subsidiary Glencore Energy (UK) Ltd.
Glencore said when it announced its annual results in February that it had set aside $1.5 billion to resolve corruption probes in the US, UK and Brazil this year.
Chief executive Gary Nagle acknowledged there were ‘pockets of misconduct’ in the company in the past but told reporters: ‘We won’t see that ever again.’
In a statement to the London Stock Exchange, Glencore said it was also due in court in the US on Tuesday ‘with proposed resolutions’ of the investigation.
source: AFP
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