Glencore: 2022 bribery and price-manipulation guilty pleas, the SFO case and the 2027 trial of individuals
Glencore: 2022 bribery and price-manipulation guilty pleas, the SFO case and the 2027 trial of individuals: a public-record watch file compiled by Falling Shares Intelligence from filings and exchange disclosures, as of 2026-11-09. On 24 May 2022 two Glencore companies pleaded guilty in US courts to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to commodity price manipulation, in a resolution totalling about $1.1bn.
From the May 2022 US guilty pleas and the June 2022 UK plea to the November 2022 sentencing, the 2024 closure of Swiss and Dutch cases, and the October 2027 trial of former employees.
Falling Shares Intelligence, Edited by Wung Thomas, Editor-in-Chief. As of .
Summary
- On 24 May 2022 two Glencore companies pleaded guilty in US courts to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to commodity price manipulation, in a resolution totalling about $1.1bn.
- In June 2022 Glencore Energy UK pleaded guilty in London to seven bribery offences, and was sentenced on 3 November 2022 to pay about £280m.
- In August 2024 the SFO charged former employees; they have pleaded not guilty and trial is set for October 2027.
- Swiss and Dutch investigations were closed in 2024, and two compliance monitors imposed by the DOJ began work in mid-2023.
Key figures
| US resolution | $1.1bn (Announced 24 May 2022; includes $700m FCPA-related and about $485m price manipulation) |
|---|---|
| UK sentence | About £280m (Glencore Energy UK, 3 Nov 2022) |
| Individuals' trial | Oct 2027 (Former employees charged by the SFO in Aug 2024) |
The 2022 guilty pleas
US guilty pleas to FCPA conspiracy and price manipulation
The DOJ announced that Glencore International AG pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, with a $428.5m fine and $272.2m forfeiture, and that Glencore Ltd pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit commodity price manipulation, with a $341.2m fine and $144.4m forfeiture. The DOJ said Glencore paid more than $100m to intermediaries over a decade, intending that some go to foreign officials in countries including Nigeria, Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and that traders manipulated S&P Global Platts fuel oil benchmarks from 2011 to 2019. Both entities must retain an independent compliance monitor for three years. (24 May 2022)
UK guilty plea to seven bribery counts
The Serious Fraud Office secured the conviction of Glencore Energy UK Ltd on seven counts of bribery, five of bribery and two of failure to prevent bribery under the Bribery Act 2010, connected to oil dealings in West Africa. (21 Jun 2022)
Sentencing in London
At Southwark Crown Court Mr Justice Fraser sentenced Glencore Energy UK, and the SFO described the payment as about £280m for what it called highly corrosive and endemic corruption. The judge described the bribery as of extended duration and endemic among traders on the West Africa desk. The chairman said the conduct was inexcusable and had no place in Glencore. (3 Nov 2022)
Charges against former employees
Earlier US guilty pleas by two former traders
The DOJ release of May 2022 recorded that a former senior fuel oil trader pleaded guilty in March 2021 in the price-manipulation case, and that a former senior West Africa crude oil trader pleaded guilty in July 2021 to FCPA and money laundering conspiracy charges. (Mar and Jul 2021)
SFO charges former employees
The SFO charged former Glencore employees, including a former global head of oil and a former head of oil operations, along with traders on the West Africa desk, over alleged conspiracies to bribe public officials in Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast to win oil deals. Four pleaded not guilty in November 2025 and the other two in September 2026. Trial is scheduled for October 2027. (Aug 2024)
Closures and monitors
Swiss and Dutch investigations closed
Glencore said the Swiss Office of the Attorney General had closed its investigation of Glencore International AG, holding it liable for failing to prevent a 2011 bribe paid by a business partner to a Congolese official, with a CHF 2m fine and a $150m compensation claim. The prosecutors found no evidence that Glencore employees knew of the bribery or that Glencore profited from it, and the Dutch investigation was dismissed. Glencore did not admit the findings and agreed not to appeal. (5 Aug 2024)
Standard
This file compiles court documents, prosecutor statements, company statements and published reporting about Glencore plc. Allegations are attributed to those who made them. An investigation is not a charge, a charge is not a finding, and nothing here is a finding of wrongdoing unless a competent authority has made one. Glencore subsidiaries pleaded guilty in 2022 and those pleas are findings; the former employees charged by the SFO in 2024 have pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent. Individuals are not named unless an official document names them and they are central; otherwise roles are used. This is news coverage for information only, not investment advice.
Right of reply
Glencore plc, and anyone named in a record cited here, can send corrections or comments to info@fallingshares.com (or directly to the Editor-in-Chief, Wung Thomas, at wungthomas@fallingshares.com). Material responses will be published alongside the relevant entry.