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Glencore headquarters in Baar, Switzerland
Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
The Swiss commodity trading and mining group Glencore, which is linked to Russia, has accepted a costly settlement with international judicial authorities because of allegations of manipulation and bribery.
The company has pleaded guilty to violating anti-corruption laws and agreed to a payment of more than $1.1 billion, the US Department of Justice said on Tuesday in Washington.
According to Glencore, they will pay around 39.6 million dollars in Brazil and also expect an additional fine in Great Britain.
Overall, the group assumes settlement payments of around $ 1.5 billion.
The sum roughly corresponds to the provisions already formed to settle the proceedings.
The authorities had accused Glencore and its subsidiaries of decades of corruption and oil price manipulation.
Bribe payments in numerous states
This is the background of the case: US authorities had come to the conclusion that Glencore had bribed officials in numerous countries, such as Brazil, Venezuela and the Ivory Coast.
According to New York Attorney Damian Williams, the bribe payments exceeded $100 million.
Among other things, money went to judges to prevent prosecution by the authorities in the countries concerned.
"Bribery was part of Glencore's culture," Williams said.
According to Attorney General Merrick Garland, the company has not only bribed various officials in seven countries around the world for around ten years.
It also manipulated commodity prices to enrich itself, Garland said.
Among other things, Glencore maintains close business relationships with Russia.
A few years ago, the company acquired a stake in the Russian oil company Rosneft, a state-owned company notorious for its rough business practices.
beb/dpa