Glencore Fined $152 Million by Swiss Authorities for 2011 Bribery Scandal
Glencore Plc (LON: GLEN) has been fined $152 million by Swiss authorities for failing to prevent a business partner from bribing a Congolese public official in 2011.
In a statement released on Monday, the Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) stated 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 (DRC) from a state-owned enterprise.
Glencore has decided not to appeal the penalty order, despite not admitting to the findings, in order to resolve the matter.
“Glencore is pleased to have resolved these investigations relating to past matters that occurred over 13 years ago,” said group chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi in a statement.
“This resolves the last of the previously disclosed government investigations into historical misconduct.”
The OAG noted that no Glencore employees were found to have knowledge of the bribery by the business partner, nor did Glencore benefit financially from the partner’s actions, according to Glencore’s statement.
A parallel investigation by the Dutch Prosecution Service has also been concluded and dismissed.
In 2022, Glencore agreed to pay the DRC government $180 million to settle alleged corruption claims in the country between 2007 and 2018.
With the latest fine, Glencore will have paid at least $1.7 billion to resolve various investigations into bribery and corruption worldwide.
Additionally, in 2022, the company pleaded guilty to corruption and market manipulation cases in the US and UK, admitting to paying bribes to secure business in eight countries, including Brazil and South Sudan.
