Glencore Fined More Than US$1bn

Glencore will pay about US$1.1 billion to US and Brazilian authorities to settle bribery and market manipulation cases, the commodities giant said on Tuesday as regulators from three countries announced settlements.

A Glencore unit agreed to plead guilty to one count of bribery under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. British officials announced earlier Tuesday that the company would also plead guilty in a bribery case, triggering additional financial penalties.

Glencore does not anticipate the total from the three settlements to exceed its previously announced reserves of US$1.5 billion.

The US Commodities Futures Trading Commission said it found the company engaged in manipulation and attempted manipulation of the US oil market from at least 2007 through 2018.

A CFTC order also found fraud and corrupt payments to state-owned entities in Brazil, Cameroon, Nigeria and Venezuela. The agency worked in parallel with a US criminal probe led by the Department of Justice.

"Today's enforcement action demonstrates that the CFTC will work with its enforcement partners around the world to ensure that the US markets operate free of manipulation and corruption, and the CFTC will impose substantial and robust sanctions against those market participants who engage in such conduct," said Gretchen Lowe, acting director of enforcement at the CFTC.

Glencore said it cooperated with the investigations and that it was working to move past an era of misconduct. The company still faces ongoing probes in Switzerland and Holland.

"We acknowledge the misconduct identified in these investigations and have cooperated with the authorities," Chief Executive Gary Nagle said in a statement. "This type of behaviour has no place in Glencore, and the Board, management team and I are very clear about the culture that we want and our commitment to be a responsible and ethical operator wherever we work." (AFP)