Glencore Plc has been fined $152 million by Swiss authorities for failing to prevent a business partner from bribing a Congolese public official in 2011. The Swiss attorney general’s office (OAG) announced on Monday that prosecutors determined Glencore did not take sufficient measures to prevent the bribery.
The incident pertains to 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 stated that it does not admit the findings but has agreed not to appeal the penalty 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. “This resolves the last of the previously disclosed government investigations into historical misconduct.”
The OAG mentioned in the summary penalty order that it did not find evidence of any Glencore employees having knowledge of the bribery by the business partner, nor did Glencore benefit financially from the business partner’s actions. A parallel investigation by the Dutch Prosecution Service has also been concluded and dismissed.
In 2022, the company agreed to pay the DRC government $180 million to settle other 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.
In 2022, the company pleaded guilty to corruption and market manipulation cases in the US and UK, admitting to paying bribes to win business in eight countries, from Brazil to South Sudan.
