Jersey-registered Glencore is now guilty of bribery in the US, and fines increase to $883 million
06/03/2023
In the US, Glencore Plc [registered office at 13 Castle Street, St. Helier, Jersey, JE1 1ES (GLEN.L)) will pay $700 million following its guilty plea for a decade-long scheme to bribe foreign officials across several countries.
The US sentence follows the UK's SFOS fine of £280 million in November [see below]. The US sentence [FEB 2023] handed down by US District Judge Lorna Schofield in Manhattan federal court consisted of a $428.5 million fine and $272 million in forfeiture, in line with a plea deal reached last May between the mining and commodity trading giant and federal prosecutors in Manhattan.
- https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/glencore-entered-guilty-pleas-foreign-bribery-and-market-manipulation-conspiracies
- https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/glencore-appear-court-us-uk-over-corruption-probe-2022-05-24/
SFO view
Glencore's total penalty for bribes across at least eight countries totals over $883 million.
- https://www.reuters.com/markets/companies/GLEN.L/
- https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/jersey-headquartered-subsidiary-pleads-guilty-to-28m-228m-bribery-charges/
- https://www.comsuregroup.com/news/a-jersey-based-plcs-uk-subsidiary-is-the-first-company-to-be-prosecuted-by-the-sfo-for-paying-bribes-1/
Glencore was sentenced and ordered to pay a total of £280 million in the UK in November following the SFO's investigation into bribes paid by the company across five African countries.
The fine is the largest overall penalty ever paid in the UK following a corporate criminal conviction and was the first use of the substantive bribery offence against a corporate defendant.
International partnerships are vital in tackling cross-border economic crime. The SFO worked in parallel with partner law enforcement agencies, including in the US, to reach these criminal resolutions against Glencore.
A three-year investigation by the SFO revealed how Glencore agents and executives paid $29 million in bribes for preferential access to oil across Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan between 2011 and 2016. Millions of dollars in cash were used to bribe local officials and government insiders, with some flown in on private jets.
The SFO's investigation into individual suspects continues. See the link below for further information.
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.