Glencore’s ex-head of oil Alex Beard charged with bribery offenses by U.K. fraud agency

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Glencore’s GLNCY-OTC former head of oil Alex Beard has been charged with bribery offences relating to the Swiss commodity trader’s operations in Africa, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said on Thursday.

Beard, 56, is charged with two conspiracies to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, the SFO said.

He is one of five ex-Glencore employees charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments and is the most high-profile commodity trader to have been charged in Britain for alleged corruption.

Beard joined Glencore in 1995 from BP, the biggest trading desk at that time, and became head of oil in 2007, a position he held until he retired in 2019.

Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga and Martin Wakefield have also been charged, relating to Glencore’s operations in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast.

Gibson and Wakefield are also charged with conspiracy to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011. All five are due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Sept. 10.

A Glencore spokesperson said the company noted the charges and had “co-operated with the SFO in its investigation into this past conduct and resolved its SFO investigation in 2022.”

“This (alleged) conduct has no place in Glencore and we are committed to acting ethically and responsibly across all aspects of our business and have taken significant action toward building a best-in-class ethics and compliance program,” the spokesperson said.

Neither the individuals charged nor their representatives could immediately be reached for comment.

SFO Director Nick Ephgrave said in a statement: “Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities.

“Today’s action is an important step toward exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account.”