“Relationships” in Congo – Corruption allegations against Glencore

Logo Bild: © Glencore – wikimedia

Glencore, the world’s largest commodity corporation, is suspected of corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and is expected to be sued on that basis. A Glencore subsidiary is said to have paid $ 6 million annually since 2013 to a company in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on a quid pro quo basis. One such service is described as “cultivating relations” with the Congolese Presidency. The problem here is that the company’s CEO, Pieter D, is the right-hand man of the Israeli businessman Dan Gertler. The two businessmen are on the US sanctions list on suspicion of corruption.

How deeply Glencore is involved in the allegations of corruption cis at this stage unclear. However, as part of the Paradise Papers revelations, it became known in 2017 that Glencore received a mining license in Congo for a price well below that officially required. From the original $ 585 million Glencore had to pay only 140 million US dollars in the end. Massive tax breaks for Glencore in the Democratic Republic of Congo have also been reported.

Currently, the Glencore subsidiary that made the payments is being summoned by the US Department of Justice. In addition, the Swiss NGO Public Eye has also filed criminal charges against Glencore managers for the above-mentioned trades. The two proceedings are still under negotiation.

The publication of legal action against Glencore has resulted in the collapse of the company’s stock price. The law firm Quinn Emanuel sees this as an unacceptable collapse of stock price and deception of shareholders, thus offering to initiate legal action against Glencore from the investor side.

So far, Glencore has not commented on the allegations of the US Department of Justice or Public Eye. Although the agreement with Pieter D’s company was dissolved in February 2017 by Glencore, this case joins a variety of unresolved controversy surrounding the Swiss commodity group.