Alex Beard, the former head of oil at Glencore, has been charged with bribery offences related to the Swiss commodity trader’s operations in Africa. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) announced the charges on Thursday.
The 56-year-old Beard faces two charges of conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies.
These alleged payments occurred in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014, and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014. This makes him one of the highest-profile commodity traders charged with corruption in Britain.
Beard joined Glencore in 1995 from BP and became head of oil in 2007, a position he held until his retirement in 2019. He was a key member of former chief executive Ivan Glasenberg’s inner circle.
Beard was also one of the company’s largest shareholders when Glencore went public in London in 2011. At that time, he earned a significant fortune, and his net worth is now estimated at $2 billion, according to the most recent Sunday Times Rich List.
Beard is one of five former Glencore executives charged with conspiracy to make corrupt payments. The others include Andrew Gibson, 64, Glencore’s former head of oil operations and Beard’s second-in-command; Paul Hopkirk; Ramon Labiaga; and Martin Wakefield.
Gibson faces four charges of conspiring to make corrupt payments in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, and in Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2010.
Similarly, Hopkirk, Labiaga, and Wakefield are accused of conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees at state-owned oil companies in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon.
Additionally, Gibson and Wakefield face extra charges for falsifying invoices to Glencore’s London office from 2007 to 2011.
All the accused are expected to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 10.
“Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities. Today’s action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those responsible to account,” Nick Ephgrave, Director of the Serious Fraud Office, commented on the case.
Financial and legal repercussions for Glencore
The charges against Beard and his former colleagues follow significant financial penalties for Glencore. In November 2022, Glencore Energy UK agreed to pay £281 million after an SFO investigation revealed it had paid $29 million in bribes to secure access to oil cargoes in Africa.
The company admitted to seven counts of bribery across several countries, including Nigeria and Cameroon. Southwark Crown Court Justice Fraser noted the sophisticated methods used to disguise the bribery and the systemic nature of the corruption within Glencore’s operations.
In addition to the UK settlement, Glencore is expected to pay $50 million in Nigeria. The company also reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to pay $180 million for all present and future claims of corruption in that country between 2007 and 2018.
Furthermore, Glencore resolved investigations in the US and Brazil, agreeing to pay around $1.5 billion in total to address allegations of bribery and market manipulation.
“Glencore cooperated with the SFO in its investigation into this past conduct and resolved its SFO investigation in 2022,” a Glencore spokesperson said, commenting on the charges.
