British prosecutors are set to bring criminal charges against former Glencore employees in connection with bribery allegations, marking a significant development in a long-running investigation. More than 18 months after revealing that up to 11 ex-staffers were under scrutiny, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) informed a London judge on Monday that it had sought governmental approval to proceed with charges against individuals. This announcement represents the first commitment by the SFO to pursue individual criminal convictions following Glencore’s guilty plea in 2022.
While the SFO did not specify the number of individuals to be charged, it indicated that some could appear in court as early as September. The commodity trading sector has faced anti-corruption probes for years, but prosecutions of individual traders or executives have been rare until now. The SFO has previously described the investigation into the Glencore employees as involving allegations of serious criminality.
Glencore faced a £276-million fine from a London judge after admitting to orchestrating an extensive bribery scheme to gain access to oil cargoes across Africa. Prosecutors targeted the firm’s London trading desk, highlighting that Glencore’s traders and executives paid over $28 million in bribes between 2011 and 2016 to secure access to oil cargoes. The investigation revealed that these payments were made for preferential access to oil, including increased cargo volumes, valuable grades of oil, and favorable delivery dates.
