Two former senior oil executives at Glencore (LSE:GLEN) have pleaded not guilty to charges arising from an investigation into alleged corruption in West Africa.
Former head of oil Alex Beard denied two counts of conspiracy to make corrupt payments during a hearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Thursday (10 September).
Prosecutors allege Beard was involved in arrangements to make payments to government or state-owned oil company officials in Nigeria between 2010–2014 and Cameroon between 2007–2014.
Former head of oil operations Andrew Gibson also entered not guilty pleas to four counts of conspiracy to make corrupt payments linked to Nigeria, Cameroon, and Côte d’Ivoire. He denied a further charge of conspiracy to falsify documents for accounting purposes.
The UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has charged six former Glencore employees in connection with the alleged conduct. Martin Wakefield, David Perez, Paul Hopkirk, and Ramon Labiaga pleaded not guilty to their respective charges in November 2025. All six defendants are scheduled to stand trial from 4 October 2027. The allegations remain unproven.
The proceedings against the former employees are separate from Glencore Energy UK’s corporate case. The subsidiary pleaded guilty to seven bribery offences in 2022 and was ordered to pay £281 million ($529.86 million) in fines, confiscation, and costs.
Glencore is a Switzerland-headquartered producer and marketer of commodities, including copper, cobalt, zinc, nickel, and energy products.
Write to France Pinzon at Mining.com.au
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