5 former Glencore executives and employees are accused of bribing government officials.

Following Glencore's 2022 guilty plea to corruption and market manipulation cases in the US and UK, five former Glencore executives and commodities trader employees are accused of conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees at state-owned oil companies in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon.

In 2022, Glencore admitted that it had paid bribes to win business in eight countries, from Brazil to South Sudan, and paid about $1.5 billion to resolve the investigations against it.

FACING CRIMINAL PROSECUTION

2. Alex Beard, the billionaire former head of oil at Glencore Plc,
1. Beard, 56, who was one of Glencore’s top executives for more than a decade before his departure in 2019, is the highest-profile individual to be charged in a sweeping series of investigations into corruption and market manipulation at the company and one of the most senior commodity traders ever to be charged with wrongdoing.
3. Andy Gibson, 64, is Glencore’s former head of oil operations and, for years, Beard’s second in command.
4. Paul Hopkirk,
5. Ramon Labiaga and
6. Martin Wakefield,  

DETAILS

• Alex Beard, Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga and Martin Wakefield have been charged in connection with the awarding of oil contracts variously spanning Cameroon, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast from 2007 to 2014.
• Gibson and Wakefield have also been charged in relation to the alleged falsification of invoices to Glencore’s London office marked as service fees to the Nigerian oil consultancy from 2007 to 2011.
• All five men are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Sept. 10. Lawyers for Beard and Gibson declined to comment, and lawyers for the other men didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

SFO

• The UK’s Serious Fraud Office accused Beard of conspiring to make corrupt payments to benefit Glencore’s oil operations in West Africa.
• The agency alleges he conspired to make payments to government officials and employees of state-owned oil firms in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014.
• The SFO charged him with four conspiracies of corrupt payments in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, and Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2010. He was also alleged to have conspired to falsify invoices between 2007 and 2011.

Nick Ephgrave, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said

• “Today’s action is an important step toward exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account,”

A Glencore spokesperson said, noting the charges.

• “Glencore cooperated with the SFO in its investigation into this past conduct and resolved its SFO investigation in 2022,”
• “We are committed to acting ethically and responsibly across all aspects of our business and have taken significant action towards building a best-in-class Ethics and Compliance Programme.”

Beard

• Until his departure from Glencore in 2019, Beard was part of former chief executive Ivan Glasenberg's inner circle, one of a dozen department heads who made up Glencore’s management board.
• After working at BP Plc, he joined in 1995, becoming head of oil in 2007. He was known for his acumen in trading Russian oil.
• When the company was listed in London in 2011, it was revealed that it was one of its largest shareholders, with a stake worth $2.8 billion.
• After leaving Glencore, he started Adaptogen Capital, an investment company that invests in large-scale batteries connected to the UK grid.
• He has been a significant donor to Christ Church College at Oxford University and a trustee of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.
• His net worth was estimated at £1.2 billion in the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
• According to a filing at Companies House, Beard’s role at Adaptogen Capital ended on July 12. The firm said it had no comment on the situation at the time.

Source

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-08-01/glencore-s-billionaire-ex-oil-head-alex-beard-charged-with-corruption-by-uk