The Democratic Republic of the Congo will receive £147 million ($180 million) from the mining corporation Glencore, located in Switzerland, to resolve allegations of wrongdoing.
The contract runs for 11 years, from 2007 to 2018.
In a slew of corruption lawsuits, Glencore has already agreed to pay more than $1.6 billion in fines this year.
In May, it acknowledged paying authorities in numerous African countries, including DR Congo. (DRC).
It came after a probe by American, British, and Brazilian officials that also looked into allegations of corruption in Latin America.
Despite the penalties, Glencore is anticipated to post record earnings of about $3.2 billion this year.
There is evidence of bribery from numerous probes examining the miner’s actions in the DRC between 2007 and 2018.
According to the US Department of Justice, Glencore acknowledged to corruptly conspiring to pay $27.5 million to third parties in May, with the “intent to employ a portion of the payments as bribes” to get “improper business benefits” in the DRC.
Glencore has several national holdings, including a controlling interest in the massive copper-cobalt project KCC and the Mutanda copper-cobalt mine.
The mining company stated that “any present and future claims stemming from any alleged acts of corruption” by the Glencore Group between 2007 and 2018 would be covered by the agreement with the Congolese government.
Glencore chairman Kalidas Madhavpeddi stated, “He is glad to have reached this deal to address the implications of its past behavior. Glencore is a long-time investor in the DRC.
Glencore also acknowledged in May that it had paid bribes of millions of dollars to officials in Brazil, Venezuela, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, and South Sudan.
It has been hit with several fines, with a UK court ordering the business to pay more than £285 million in reparations for African bribes connected to its commodities trading desk in London.
“Bribery was recognized as part of the West Africa desk’s manner of doing business,” Mr. Justice Fraser stated about the culture that formed at Glencore.
“Bribery is a violent crime. It truly taints people and businesses, spreading like a sickness, “he added.
The chairman of Glencore has acknowledged that “unacceptable behaviors” have occurred but that the company is “not the company it was” now.
One of the most giant commodity corporations in the world, Glencore has 135,000 employees spread across more than 35 nations.
