Anglo-Swiss multinational Glencore’s subsidiary Glencore Energy UK has confirmed it will pay a financial penalty and costs of £281-million, or $310-million, in respect of five counts of bribery and two counts of failure to prevent bribery.
The penalty was determined by Southwark Crown Court Judge Justice Fraser, in London, following an investigation undertaken by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Glencore on May 24 announced that it had reached coordinated resolutions of investigations by authorities in the UK, the US and Brazil into past activities in certain group businesses related to bribery, and separate US investigations related to market manipulation.
The SFO found that Glencore Energy had paid or failed to prevent the payment of millions of dollars in bribes to officials in five African countries, where the company has oil operations. The SFO says Glencore provided a high level of cooperation with the investigation and engaged in an extensive programme of corporate reform.
The aggregate payments to resolve the UK, US and Brazilian investigations do not differ materially from the $1.5-billion provision recorded in Glencore’s 2021 financial year results.
Glencore chairperson Kalidas Madhavpeddi says the conduct that took place was inexcusable and has no place in Glencore.
He says the company is committed to creating value for all stakeholders by operating transparently under a well-defined set of values, with openness and integrity at the forefront.
Glencore has taken significant action towards implementing a world-class Ethics and Compliance Programme built around risk assessment, policies, procedures, standards and guidelines based on international best practice, associated training and awareness initiatives as well as monitoring systems.