Glencore Found ‘Facts That May Be Relevant’ to Corruption Probes

(Bloomberg) --

Glencore Plc has uncovered “facts that may be relevant” to the corruption probes it's facing and shared them with the relevant authorities, according to the company's auditor.

The statement, in the audit overview published in Glencore's annual report on Thursday, marks the first indication from the company that there may be some substance to the raft of investigations it is facing.

The investigations into possible bribery and corruption in different parts of the world have weighed on the share price of the mining and commodity trading house over the past two years and marred the legacy of its longstanding chief executive, Ivan Glasenberg. The company has announced probes from the U.S. Department of Justice, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.K. Serious Fraud Office as well as Brazilian authorities.

A spokesman for Glencore declined to comment.

Glencore has appointed external lawyers and forensic experts to help it respond to the investigations. The company's auditor said Glencore had “identified facts that may be relevant to the investigations and has shared these facts with the relevant authorities.”

However, Glencore has not yet made any provision in its accounts for the cost of possible fines or settlements. “At this stage of the investigations, the group and its legal advisors believe that the length of the investigations and the monetary impact from the resolutions thereof, such as these may be, cannot be determined but may be material,” according to the auditor's report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jack Farchy in London at jfarchy@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at wkennedy3@bloomberg.net, Dylan Griffiths, Nicholas Larkin

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.