Glencore’s ex-head of oil charged with bribery offences in Africa

London — Glencore’s former head of oil Alex Beard has been charged with bribery offences relating to the Swiss commodity trader’s operations in Africa, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office said on Thursday.

Beard is charged with two conspiracies to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, the SFO said.

He is one of five former Glencore employees charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments.

Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga and Martin Wakefield have also been charged and all five are due to appear at London’s Westminster magistrate’s court on September 10.

SFO director Nick Ephgrave said in a statement: “Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities. Today’s action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account.” 

A Glencore spokesperson said the company noted the charges and had “co-operated with the SFO in its investigation into this past conduct and resolved its SFO investigation in 2022”.

“This (alleged) conduct has no place in Glencore and we are committed to acting ethically and responsibly across all aspects of our business and have taken significant action towards building a best-in-class ethics and compliance programme,” the spokesperson said.

Neither the individuals charged nor their representatives could immediately be reached for comment. 

Update: August 1 2024
This story has been updated with more information and comment. 

Reuters