Glencore to settle US, UK investigations for US$1.5b

GLENCORE will pay US$1.5 billion to settle US and UK investigations into alleged wrongdoing by the giant commodities trader, according to people familiar with the matter.

The settlement will be announced later, according to the people who asked not to be identified discussing non-public matters. Glencore declined to comment on the figure.

In a statement earlier, the giant commodities trader said it will appear in court in the US and UK today in connection with “proposed resolutions” investigations into its activities. It reiterated a February announcement that it expected to resolve US, UK and Brazilian probes this year. 

Glencore in February said it had set aside US$1.5 billion for a potential settlement of probes. The company has said it is subject to investigations by the US Department of Justice, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the UK Serious Fraud Office and the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office. 

US Attorney General Merrick Garland will host a press conference in Washington on unspecified “Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and market manipulation matters,” according to a statement. A court hearing involving Glencore is also scheduled this afternoon in London. 

The US corruption and money-laundering investigation overshadowed the final years at the helm for Glencore’s billionaire former chief executive officer Ivan Glasenberg and have made it hard for investors to ignore the industry’s reputation for secrecy and graft. At the time, new CEO Gary Nagle made the clearest admission yet that there had been past wrongdoing and “flaws in our culture.” When the inquiries became public in 2018, Glencore said the US had requested documents relating to its business in Nigeria, Congo and Venezuela starting in 2007.

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Glencore is the largest among a handful of companies that dominate global trading of oil, fuel, metals, minerals and food, although most of its rivals remain privately held. Over the years, the industry has been willing to do business in some of the poorest countries with the most corrupt governments, often relying on middlemen to help secure deals.

Last year, a former Glencore trader pleaded guilty in the US to participating in an international scheme to bribe officials in Nigeria to win favourable treatment from the state-owned oil company. Glencore’s operations in the Congo, where it worked with Israeli billionaire Dan Gertler, also drew the attention of regulators. BLOOMBERG