Glencore said it has reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) covering all present and future claims arising from any alleged acts of corruption by the Glencore Group in the DRC between 2007 and 2018. This includes activities that have been the subject of various investigations by, amongst others, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the DRC’s National Financial Intelligence Unit and Ministry of Justice.
Under the agreement, Glencore International AG, on behalf of its Congolese-associated companies, will pay the DRC $180 million and will continue to implement in the DRC the Ethics and Compliance Program the company committed to continue to implement in its resolution with the DOJ. The agreement is governed by Congolese law and the only admissions made are in respect of the conduct already acknowledged in Glencore’s resolution with the DOJ.
“Glencore is a long-standing investor in the DRC and is pleased to have reached this agreement to address the consequences of its past conduct,” said Kalidas Madhavpeddi, chairman of Glencore. “Glencore has actively promoted its Ethics and Compliance Program in the DRC in recent years and looks forward to continuing to work with the DRC authorities and other stakeholders to facilitate good governance and ethical business practices in the country.”
As stated in its May 24, 2022 announcement of coordinated resolutions with US, UK and Brazilian authorities, starting before the company knew of the DOJ’s investigations, Glencore has invested substantial resources toward developing a best-in-class Ethics and Compliance Program. The company has a refreshed board and management team, including in its DRC operations, who the company said are dedicated to fostering a culture of integrity, responsibility and transparency.
In related news, Glencore Energy UK Ltd. will pay a financial penalty of nearly £281 million with respect to the previously announced resolution of the UK Serious Fraud Office investigation. The company admitted to five counts of bribery and two counts of failure to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act 2010.
This follows the May 24, 2022 announcement that Glencore had reached coordinated resolutions of investigation by authorities in the UK, the US and Brazil for bribery, and a separate U.S. investigation into market manipulation. The aggregate payments to resolve the UK, US and Brazilian investigations totals approximately $1.5 billion.
Glencore said it continues to cooperate with an ongoing investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland into Glencore International AG for failure to have the organizational measures in place to prevent alleged corruption and an investigation of similar scope by the Dutch Public Prosecution Service.
