Commodities Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland fines Glencore millions

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has sentenced the commodities group Glencore to a fine of two million Swiss francs in connection with a corruption affair in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). It also imposed a compensation claim of 150 million US dollars.

According to the penalty order published on Monday by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and Glencore, Glencore had not taken the necessary precautions to prevent the bribery of a Congolese public official by a business partner in 2011.

Glencore does not recognize these findings by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, but is refraining from contesting the penalty order out of an interest "in settling the matter", the company announced.

The affair is related to the acquisition of minority stakes in two mining companies in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011. Glencore had already reached a settlement with the African country in 2022, which included a payment of 180 million dollars.

SDA