Glencore UK Pleads Guilty to Paying R445 Million In Bribes to Authorities in 5 African Countries

• Controversial company Glencore has pled guilty to bribery after paying off authorities in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan
• The company paid over R445 million to gain preferential access to oil in these five African countries
• South Africans are finding it hard to believe that Glencore's South African division was operating ethically

LONDON - On Tuesday, 21 June, a Glencore subsidiary pled guilty to multiple counts of bribery after confessing to bribing authorities in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan.

Glencore Energy admitted at the Southwark Crown Court hearing in London that it paid more than $28 million (R445 million) in bribes to gain advantageous access to oil and make illegitimate revenue between 2011 and 2016.

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According to SABC News, sentencing for the crimes will take place on 2 and 3 November because Glencore is still expected to stand in court in Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Last month, Glencore agreed to pay $1.1 billion (R17 billion) to the United States of America after admitting to being involved in illicit activity in the country. The settlement was in relation to a decade-long bribery scheme in seven countries.

According to TimesLIVE, Glencore was also allegedly involved in the manipulation of fuel prices at US shipping ports. Investigations into Glencore's activities have not ended and executives who were involved in corruption schemes will be probed too by the UK's Serious Fraud Office.

South Africans want to know when Glencore SA will be convicted

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South Africans are raising questions about when Glencore's South African division will face the music for allegedly being involved in bribing schemes.

Here are some comments:

@theeNosh said:

"I ask again. Is it only in SA that Glencore decided to be ethical?"

@NgamlaBlack said:

"Glencore is very ethical in South Africa, they learned a lesson & got their act right, the way to become a good & wholesome entity is to admit your guilt & face the consequences, way to go Glencore"

@john_mdaka said:

"This is puzzling, they commit a crime in Africa, incl. South Africa and they're found guilty in a foreign country but the @StateCaptureCom and other law enforcement authorities exonerated them? So much for instilling confidence in our justice and law enforcement authorities!"

@ripplelake said:

"In RSA there are celebrated people who defended Glencore and brought us "State of Capture". Strangely enough, those who raised the Glencore corruption are said to be enablers of "State Capture" ‍♂️"

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Brian Molefe accuses Ramaphosa of politically protecting mining giants

Briefly News previously reported that Brian Molefe, the former Eskom boss, didn't hold back on Friday, 15 January as he accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of being a tool of the mining giant Glencore.

He told the State Capture Commission of Inquiry that Ramaphosa knew what Glencore wanted when it made him the chairperson of Optimum Coal Mine. The company was then sold to the controversial Indian business family, the Guptas according to IOL.

Molefe maintained that Ramaphosa was a crucial figure behind the coal contracts between Glencore and Eskom. He said that Glencore had demanded that the price of coal be increased from R150 a ton to R530 in 2014 which would result in Glencore getting R6 billion over the following three years.

Source: Briefly News