The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in the Swiss town of Baar November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
YAOUNDE: The head of Cameroon’s National Hydrocarbons Corp (SNH) says some managers and employees will appear before a UK court over suspected involvement in bribery offences linked to Swiss commodity trader Glencore.
Adolphe Moudiki, SNH’s administrator and director general, had previously denied staff involvement but late last Friday issued a statement saying some employees had been identified as suspects and would appear before a British court on Sept 10.
In June 2022, Glencore’s UK subsidiary pleaded guilty at a London court to seven counts of bribery in connection with oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan.
Last Thursday, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged Glencore’s former head of oil Alex Beard with two conspiracies to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria and Cameroon.
“SNH welcomes the progress of proceedings against the perpetrators and accomplices of the acts of corruption that have tarnished its image,” Moudiki said in the statement.
He did not say how many SNH staff were involved.
Glencore’s UK subsidiary has admitted it paid bribes in Cameroon to SNH officials and others to the sum of seven billion CFA francs (US$11mil) to secure preferential access to oil between 2011 and 2016.
Cameroonian lawyer and anti-corruption specialist Akere Muna said SNH should disclose identities of those involved and suspend all dealings with Glencore.
“The culprits are within Cameroon, the transactions that gave rise to the corruption took place in Cameroon yet they expect us to believe the solution will come from London,” said Muna, a former vice-chairperson of corruption watchdog Transparency International.
In July 2022, Cameroon’s state anti-corruption commission said an investigation into the bribery offences was underway, but it has not since shared further details.
SNH is a state company that sells the share of national crude oil production accruing to the state on the international market.
Reports have stated that corruption is endemic in Cameroon and significantly increases the costs and risks of doing business. — Reuters
