Five ex-Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) employees have been charged with corruption by the UK Serious Fraud Office (SFO).
Alex Beard, the billionaire former head of oil at Glencore, was one of those charged by the UK white-collar police.
The five have been charged with "conspiring to make corrupt payments in order to benefit commodities giant Glencore’s oil operations in West Africa", in reference to the awarding of a range of oil contracts in Cameroon, Nigeria and the Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2014.
Andrew Gibson, Beard's former second in command, and another former colleague, Martin Wakefield, were also charged with the falsification of invoices to Glencore’s London office.
Nick Ephgrave, SFO director, said: “Bribery damages financial markets and causes lasting harm to communities.
“Today’s action is an important step towards exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account.”
A hearing is scheduled for 10 am on 10 September at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the SFO said.