A MINING subsidiary has pleaded guilty in a London court to seven counts of bribery in Africa.
Britain’s Serious Fraud Office exposed “profit-driven” bribery and corruption by Glencore Energy UK over oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
Glencore — which claims on its website “we responsibly supply the commodities that are fundamental to the building blocks of life” — will be sentenced next month. It is not yet known how much the firm will pay in fines, but it had set aside $1.5bn to cover penalties it faces in the UK, US and Brazil. Glencore will also pay more than £800m to resolve separate claims with Brazil and the US.
Company chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi admitted to the Westminster Magistrates’ Court that “unacceptable practices” had taken place.
Bribes of more than £19m were paid for preferential access to oil, with approval by the company, between 2011 and 2016.
