Glencore to Pay the DRC $180m to Settle Corruption Claims

The agreement covers an 11-year period from 2007 to 2018. It is the latest in a series of corruption cases which has seen Glencore agree to pay out more than $1.6bn in fines this year. There have been various investigations into the miner’s activities in the DRC between 2007 and 2018 which uncovered evidence of bribery. In May, the US Department of Justice said that Glencore had admitted to corruptly conspiring to pay around $27.5m to third parties to secure “improper business advantages” in DRC, while “intending a portion of the payments to be used as bribes”. Glencore owns several assets in the country, including the Mutanda copper-cobalt mine and a controlling stake in KCC, a large copper-cobalt project. The mining firm said the settlement with the Congolese government would cover “all present and future claims arising from any alleged acts of corruption” by the Glencore Group between 2007 and 2018. In May, Glencore also admitted to paying millions in bribes to officials in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, South Sudan, Brazil and Venezuela. Despite the fines Glencore is expected to make record profits of around $3.2bn this year.
 SOURCE: BBC