Glencore has agreed to pay $180 million to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to settle corruption claims in the country over an 11-year period. The move is part of an agreement with the Congolese government that covers all claims arising from acts of corruption by the mining firm between 2007 and 2018.
“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. Glencore has actively promoted its Ethics and Compliance Programme 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," Glencore's chairman said in a statement.
The company said that it has revamped the board and management team, including in its operations in the DRC, noting that it is determined to foster "a culture of integrity, responsibility and transparency."
The fine is the latest in a series of corruption cases. Glencore previously agreed to pay more than $1.6 billion in fines this year in relation to bribery offences across multiple states in Africa, including Nigeria, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and DRC, and Latin America.
Glencore, the largest commodity trader in the global energy, metal, and mineral trade, which has a large commodities trading division and owns copper, nickel, and coal mines across the world, has experienced various investigations into its global operations. In particular, in 2018, the US Department of Justice launched a probe into its activities in the DRC, Nigeria, and Venezuela. As a result, in May 2022, Glencore pleaded guilty to multiple counts of bribery and agreed to pay penalties.
Last month, Southwark Crown Court in the UK ordered a British subsidiary of the mining giant to pay a penalty of £280 million ($294 million) after a Serious Fraud Office (SFO) probe that resulted in the company pleading guilty to seven counts of bribery.
Following the ruling, African Energy Chamber Executive Chairman N.J. Ayuk in an interview with Sputnik expressed his discontent with the ruling, saying that it is "a miscarriage of justice" and called for a full accounting of the Glencore executives behind the corruption scheme, as well as those Africans who were involved in it.