Glencore Announces Settlement of Bribery, Manipulation Investigations

Glencore, a diversified mining and marketing corporation, stated today that the majority of its bribery and market manipulation investigations had been resolved.

This comes after nearly four years of investigations and a significant environmental, social, and governance (ESG) overhang over the company.

A total of $1.060-billion in fines, forfeiture, and disgorgement will be paid to US and Brazilian authorities, with an additional penalty from the UK Serious Fraud Office to be issued on June 21.

These investigations are not covered by the agreement and are still pending. To reach an agreement with the US Department of Justice, the organisation admitted to one count of conspiracy to violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with previous conduct in foreign jurisdictions, as well as one count of market manipulation in the US fuel oil markets.

Glencore has also agreed to pay civil charges related to the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations. Finally, it has reached an agreement with Brazilian authorities about its involvement in the Petrobras "Operation Car Wash" affair.

Glencore will have an independent compliance monitor for three years to assess its compliance with the agreements and the efficiency of its internal systems. It also produced a presentation on its ethics and compliance programme, which details the adjustments to business policies that have been in place since before the investigation, as well as management changes and strengthened compliance and system procedures since 2016.

Glencore believes it has already moved on from its past as a public business, notably with new management at the CEO level and across all divisions.

It notes that, compared to ten years ago, its trading operation is now far more reliant on its infrastructure and long-term partnerships for profitability. It believes that this, together with a broader cultural shift surrounding marketing's role within a public firm, reduces the possibility of new penalties or inquiries.

Source: Mining Weekly