Swiss Firm With Intended Fringe Benefit To NNPC Officials Inexchange For Crude Contracts, Fined $1.1b In The US.
By Onome Onojaefe
Glencore, a mining and commodities trading company, has agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion in fines for a variety of offences, including paying bribes to several African countries in exchange for lucrative crude oil purchase contracts.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice (DoJ), Glencore and its subsidiaries caused $79.6 million in payments to intermediary companies between 2007 and 2018.
It was done to gain “improper advantages” in obtaining and maintaining business with state-owned and state-controlled entities in the West African countries of Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, and Equatorial Guinea, according to the report.
“Glencore hid the bribe payments by entering into phoney consulting agreements, paying inflated invoices, and making corrupt payments to foreign officials through intermediary companies.”
“In Nigeria, for example, Glencore and Glencore’s UK subsidiaries signed multiple agreements to buy crude oil and refined petroleum products from Nigeria’s state-owned and state-controlled oil company.
“Glencore and its subsidiaries engaged two intermediaries to pursue business opportunities and other improper business advantages, such as the award of crude oil contracts, knowing that the intermediaries would bribe Nigerian government officials to obtain such business.”
“Glencore and its subsidiaries paid more than $52 million to the intermediaries in Nigeria alone, with the intention of using those funds, at least in part, to pay bribes to Nigerian officials,” according to the Justice Department.
Anthony Stimler, an ex-Glencore trader, pleaded guilty last year to a scheme to bribe Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) officials in exchange for a favourable oil contract.
Stimler, who worked on Glencore’s West Africa desk from 2002 to 2009 and again from around 2011 to 2019, said he paid up to $300,000 in bribes to fund a senior government official’s election campaign.
Glencore’s compliance with American money-laundering and corruption laws dating back to 2007 was investigated by the US Department of Justice in 2018. It was about the company’s operations in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Venezuela.
Glencore admitted in the DRC that it conspired to and did corruptly offer and pay approximately $27.5 million to third parties, with the intention of using a portion of the payments as bribes to DRC officials in order to secure improper business advantages, according to the US statement.
Glencore also admitted to bribing Brazilian and Venezuelan officials. In Brazil, the company caused approximately $147,202 to be used as corrupt payments for Brazilian officials, at least in part.
Glencore admitted to paying over $1.2 million to an intermediary company that made corrupt payments for the benefit of a Venezuelan official in Venezuela, as part of a conspiracy to secure and secure improper business advantages.
In July 2021, Glencore’s former senior trader in charge of the crude oil business’s West Africa desk pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one count of conspiracy to launder money.
Glencore pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, agreed to a criminal fine of $428,521,173, and criminal forfeiture and disgorgement in the amount of $272,185,792, according to the terms of the plea agreement, which is still subject to court approval.
According to the department, it reached an agreement with Glencore based on a number of factors, including the nature, seriousness, and widespread nature of the offence.
“According to admissions and court documents filed in the Southern District of New York, Glencore engaged in a scheme for over a decade to pay more than $100 million to third-party intermediaries through its employees and agents.”
“It did so while intending to pay bribes to officials in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),” it said.
Employees of Glencore Ltd. conspired to manipulate two benchmark price assessments published by S&P Global Platts for fuel oil products between January 2011 and August 2019, according to the US Department of Justice.
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“As part of the conspiracy, Glencore Ltd. employees sought to unlawfully enrich themselves and Glencore Ltd. by increasing profits and lowering costs on contracts to buy and sell physical fuel oil, as well as certain derivative positions held by Glencore Ltd.,” the statement continued.
Source: TVN
