Glencore agrees to pay Congo $180M over bribery case
BAAR, Switzerland (AP) -- Commodities company Glencore said Monday that it has reached an agreement with the Democratic Republic of Congo to pay $180 million over bribery allegations spanning from 2007 to 2018.
It comes months after the Anglo-Swiss company announced deals with authorities in the U.S., Britain and Brazil to pay a total of $1.5 billion to resolve all accusations of corruption and market manipulation.
The U.S. Justice Department said in May that Glencore paid more more than $100 million to intermediaries over 10 years, "intending that a significant portion of these payments would be used to pay bribes to officials" in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Brazil, Venezuela and Congo.
In Congo, Glencore acknowledged that it paid $27.5 million to third parties with the goal that a portion be used to bribe Congolese officials to secure improper business advantages, according to the Justice Department.
"Glencore is a long-standing investor in the DRC and is pleased to have reached this Agreement to address the consequences of its past conduct," Chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi said in a statement. The company "looks forward to continuing to work with the DRC authorities and other stakeholders to facilitate good governance and ethical business practices in the country."
Last month, a British court ordered Glencore to pay more than 280 million pounds ($341 million) for using bribes to bolster its oil profits in five African countries. It pleaded guilty in June after an investigation launched by the U.K.'s Serious Fraud Office in 2019 found it paid bribes worth a combined $29 million to gain access to oil in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.