Glencore pays up to $1.5B to resolve corruption claims
Commodities firm Glencore says it has reached deals with authorities in the United States, Britain and Brazil to resolve corruption allegations in return for penalties totaling up to $1.5 billion
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Commodities firm Glencore says it has reached deals with authorities in the United States, Britain and Brazil to resolve corruption allegations in return for penalties totaling up to $1.5 billion.
The Anglo-Swiss company said late Tuesday that it will pay $700 million to resolve a U.S. bribery probe and a further $486 million in connection with allegations of market manipulation.
Glencore said that about $166 million in fines agreed with the U.S. authorities will be credited to a parallel investigation by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, where it has indicated that it will plead guilty to bribery at a hearing next month.
Separately, the company is paying $40 million to resolve a bribery probe in Brazil.
The U.S. Department of Justice said its case against the company related to “a decade-long scheme by Glencore and its subsidiaries to make and conceal corrupt payments and bribes” to foreign officials in Africa and Latin America.
“The scope of this criminal bribery scheme is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York was quoted as saying. “Glencore paid bribes to secure oil contracts. Glencore paid bribes to avoid government audits. Glencore bribed judges to make lawsuits disappear.”
“At bottom, Glencore paid bribes to make money – hundreds of millions of dollars,” Williams said. “And it did so with the approval, and even encouragement, of its top executives.
“Glencore today is not the company it was when the unacceptable practices behind this misconduct occurred,” chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi said in a statement, adding that Glencore was committed to “act ethically and responsibly across all aspects of its business.”
Glencore said that it “does not currently anticipate” the total payments to differ materially from the $1.5 billion it has set aside so far.
The company remains subject of investigations in Switzerland and the Netherlands.