Swiss prosecutors fine Glencore in corruption case
Published : Wednesday, 7 August, 2024 at 12:00 AM Count : 285
ZURICH, Aug 6: Swiss prosecutors on Monday ordered commodities giant Glencore to pay more than $150 million in fines and compensation over a corruption case in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
After more than four years of probing the acquisition of two minority stakes by a Glencore business partner in the DRC in 2011, Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General issued the firm a summary fine of 2 million Swiss francs ($1.18 million).
It said it found the Swiss firm guilty of failing "to take all necessary and reasonable organisational measures with regard to the bribery of foreign public officials by a business partner..."
Prosecutors also ordered the company to pay a $150-million compensation claim, and halted investigations concerning other parts of Glencore's activities in the DRC -- with whom it struck a $180-million deal in December 2022.
Glencore has previously been investigated in several countries and pleaded guilty of corruption in Africa and South America.
The group was fined $1 billion worth of penalties by the US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, as well as nearly $400 million in Brazil and the UK.
"Glencore is pleased to have resolved these investigations relating to past matters," said the company's chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi.
Glencore acknowledged the Office of the Attorney General's summary order, saying it did not "admit the findings" but "in the interest of resolving this matter has agreed not to appeal" the decision.
A leading natural resource trading and mining company, the firm pointed out that prosecutors "did not identify that any Glencore employees had any knowledge of the bribery by the business partner, nor did Glencore benefit financially" from the partner's conduct.
The company has previously been scrutinised for its ties with Israeli billionaire Dan Gretler, which it eventually severed over mining rights negotiations.
Glencore's full cooperation with the investigation since its launch in June 2020 helped reduce the fine, the Office of the Attorney General's statement said.
A parallel criminal case against Glencore that Swiss and Dutch prosecutors were cooperating on was also closed. —AFP
