Ex-Glencore employees set to face charges over Africa corruption

The UK Serious Fraud Office is set to announce charges against former employees of Glencore as soon as next month, two years after the company pleaded guilty to bribery offences.

The SFO has asked the UK attorney-general Victoria Prentis for her consent to bring charges against the individuals allegedly involved in the conduct, a London court heard on Monday. A decision should be made by July 31, according to a barrister for the SFO.

“I can confirm that the SFO has now sought the attorney-general’s consent and did so on 14th June,” Faras Baloch, a barrister acting for the SFO, told the High Court.

Glencore pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery in 2022 and paid about £280mn after it was accused of using $29mn in bribes to gain preferential access to African oil. The conduct was described as “endemic” by Mr Justice Fraser, who presided over the case, and was focused on the commodity trading giant’s London-based West Africa desk, which sourced and traded crude oil from across Africa.

The financial penalty is the largest the SFO has ever secured following a conviction. The agency opened its investigation into Glencore in 2019.

The SFO said last year that a charging decision against as many as 11 individuals linked to the conduct had been delayed until July. Baloch told Mr Justice Fraser on Monday that the attorney-general’s office had said that a decision should still be made by the 31 July deadline despite the UK election on 4 July, which could see a new attorney-general appointed.

Once the attorney-general had signed off on the charges, the SFO would send letters to the defendants to inform them they were being charged, with a hearing expected to take place in September at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, Baloch said.

The attorney-general’s permission to bring charges is needed when prosecuting under certain pieces of legislation. The names of the suspects are currently protected under an anonymity order from the court.