Glencore Plc (LON: GLEN), a global mining and commodities trading giant, has been fined $152 million by Swiss authorities for failing to prevent a business partner from bribing a Congolese public official in 2011. This penalty marks another chapter in Glencore’s ongoing efforts to address past misconduct and legal issues.
The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) announced the fine, stating that prosecutors found Glencore did not take adequate measures to prevent the bribery. The incident involved the business partner’s acquisition of minority stakes in two mining companies in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from a state-owned enterprise. Despite the hefty fine, Glencore has chosen not to appeal the penalty order, aiming to resolve the matter swiftly.
“Glencore is pleased to have resolved these investigations relating to past matters that occurred over 13 years ago,” Chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi said in a statement. He emphasized that this resolution closes the last of the previously disclosed government investigations into historical misconduct.
The OAG’s summary penalty order clarified that no Glencore employees were found to have knowledge of the bribery conducted by the business partner. Furthermore, it stated that Glencore did not benefit financially from the partner’s actions.
This case is a component of Glencore’s larger legal concerns. The case was dropped once the Dutch Prosecution Service’s parallel investigation came to an end. These court decisions come after a big settlement in 2022, in which Glencore consented to pay the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) $180 million to resolve accusations of corruption in the nation pertaining to actions from 2007 to 2018.
Glencore has ultimately spent at least $1.7 billion to settle numerous cases involving bribery and corruption around the globe. This includes hefty fines from US and UK legal proceedings. The business entered a guilty plea in 2022 to allegations of market manipulation and corruption in these nations. Glencore acknowledged using bribery to get contracts in eight different nations, from Brazil to South Sudan.
Glencore believes that keeping investor confidence and guaranteeing operational stability depend on the resolution of these legal action. The organization functions across multiple regions with varied legal and regulatory environments, rendering adherence to regulations a major challenge. Glencore needs to address its past misconduct if it wants to come across as a seasoned, rehabilitated operator in the global market.
