Is it any comfort to the mining industry that the more serious of the charges that were recited against Glencore PLC (LSE:GLEN) in Southwark Crown court this week related to oil deals?
Cash in suitcases was ferried around by jetplanes in Africa, specifically to bribe officials in the oil and gas industries in South Sudan, Nigeria and elsewhere, the court heard, ahead of sentencing.
When the sentencing did come, a day later, the total payable in fines and confiscations was a chunky £280mln - some way shy of the maximum legally allowed, but a good deal more than the estimated £81mln in damage that the Serious Fraud Office estimated was done by Glencore’s behaviour.
“The facts demonstrate not only sustained criminality but sophisticated devices to disguise it, including drawing significant cash sums for other stated purposes that would be legitimate, such as the expenses of opening a new office, which were in reality used for corrupt purposes,” said Mr Justice Fraser.
More significantly, the company was held accountable at the highest level.
This marks a significant contrast to what’s usual in cases of criminality committed by large organisations, where responsibility usually rests with middle management decisions while top-level executives plead ignorance of the facts.
In this case, the blame went right to the top, but was noticeably focussed on oil and oil trading rather than mining.
Does this mean that Glencore’s mining arm is in the clear, then?
Well, rumours have long swirled around the company’s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo and elsewhere, and the company’s reputation hasn’t been helped by its occasional associations in copper mining with well-known figures like Beny Steinmetz and Dan Gertler.
Should there ever be a significant desire to delve in detail into Glencore’s mining past, some interesting new knowledge might surface.
Steinmetz, though, has already been sent to jail for his involvement in corrupt practices involving the huge Simandou iron ore project in Guinea.
At one time, Glencore was said to be interested in Simandou, but shied away, to focus on well-established assets in the DRC instead.