from JEAN KASSONGO in Kinshasa, DRC
DRC Bureau
KINSHASA, (CAJ News) – GLENCORE, the controversial commodities and mining firm, is to pay US$180 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for alleged corruption by the company between 2007 and 2018.
The Swiss firm’s businesses have been the subject of various investigations by, among others, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the DRC’s National Financial Intelligence Unit and Ministry of Justice.
The payment will be on behalf of its Congolese-associated companies.
Kalidas Madhavpeddi, Chairman of Glencore, confirmed the developments.
“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. Glencore has actively promoted its Ethics and Compliance Programme in the DRC in recent years and looks forward to continuing to work with the DRC authorities and other stakeholders to facilitate good governance and ethical business practices in the country,” Madhavpeddi said.
Glencore’s operations are littered with graft accusations.
– CAJ News