Mining giant to pay more than one billion dollars after bribery probes

Mining giant Glencore is to pay more than a billon dollars after bribery investigations, with the firm’s chairman admitting “unacceptable practices” had taken place.

The firm announced it had reached agreements with authorities in the US, UK and Brazil who were investigating claims of bribery and market manipulation.

The announcement of penalties to be paid came after Glencore Energy UK indicated in a London court yesterday that it will plead guilty to bribery charges brought by the Serious Fraud Office.

In an update yesterday evening, Glencore said it will pay penalties of 700,706,965 US dollars (about £560m) to resolve bribery investigations and 485,638,885 dollars (£388m) to resolve market manipulation investigations by the Department of Justice in the US and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The firm said up to 165,930,959 dollars (£132m) will be credited against parallel matters, including in the UK, resulting in the net amount payable to the US authorities expected to be 1,020,414,891 dollars (£1.02bn).

The company said it has also agreed to pay 39,598,367 dollars (£31m) under a resolution signed with the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office in connection with its bribery investigation.

The London-listed miner had previously set aside 1.5 billion dollars (£1.2bn) to cover the investigations it faces in the US, the UK and Brazil.

Glencore chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi said: “Glencore today is not the company it was when the unacceptable practices behind this misconduct occurred.

“The board and the management team are committed to operating a company that creates value for all stakeholders by operating transparently under a well-defined set of values, with openness and integrity at the forefront.

“We want the Glencore of today to be an employer of choice, attracting and retaining the best talent and competing across its sectors not only in terms of the unique value proposition that Glencore has to offer, but also in its commitment to act ethically and responsibly across all aspects of its business.”

“We want the Glencore of today to be an employer of choice