The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has commended the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) for prosecuting five former Glencore officials accused of making corrupt payments to benefit their operations in West Africa.
ANEEJ has urged Nigeria’s Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to similarly prosecute Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) staff, both retired and serving, who received bribes from Glencore. This call comes despite Glencore’s agreement to pay a $50 million penalty for illegal activities in Nigeria.
On August 1, 2024, the UK’s SFO charged Alex Beard, Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, and Martin Wakefield with conspiring to make corrupt payments to benefit Glencore’s oil operations in West Africa, implicating NNPCL officials.
Rev. David Ugolor, Executive Director of ANEEJ, reacted to the prosecution by urging the Nigerian government to reveal the identities of NNPCL officials involved in the bribery scandal. Ugolor emphasized the need for Nigeria to follow the UK’s lead and prosecute those involved to restore the country’s image internationally.
“We are pleased to see the SFO charge five former Glencore staff for conspiring to make corrupt payments. We call on the Nigerian government to press charges against those who received bribes in line with UNCAC principles and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s anti-corruption stance. The EFCC should investigate and prosecute those involved,” Ugolor stated.
He lamented that NNPCL officials’ corruption contributed to Nigeria’s economic downturn, which has led to current protests. Ugolor called for transparency in exposing Nigerian officials who accepted bribes, similar to the UK’s exposure of the bribe givers.
“Corruption involves two parties; we must see the faces of those who accepted bribes just as the UK has exposed the givers. Holding high office holders accountable is crucial to stopping grand corruption, which has caused massive poverty in Nigeria,” Ugolor added.
The five charged individuals are former Glencore employees implicated in awarding oil contracts across Cameroon, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast from 2007 to 2014. Two of them also face charges related to falsifying invoices to Glencore’s London office marked as service fees to a Nigerian oil consultancy from 2007 to 2011. The prosecution will continue at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on September 10.
In May 2022, Glencore pleaded guilty to foreign bribery and price manipulation in settlements with US, UK, and Brazilian authorities. Glencore admitted to paying over $100 million in bribes to government officials, including in Nigeria, violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). Consequently, Glencore was fined £276.4 million by a UK court for bribing Nigerian officials to secure favorable crude oil trading contracts.
