Alex Beard, the billionaire former head of oil at Glencore Plc, has been charged with corruption by the UK's Serious Fraud Office, along with four other former employees of the commodities trader, Bloomberg reported.
The Serious Fraud Office alleges that Beard conspired to make corrupt payments to benefit Glencore's oil operations in West Africa. The charges include conspiring to pay bribes to government officials and employees of state-owned oil firms in Nigeria from 2010 to 2014, and in Cameroon from 2007 to 2014.
He is one of the most senior commodity traders ever to face such charges. Also facing criminal prosecution is Andy Gibson, 64, Glencore's former head of oil operations and Beard's longtime deputy.
Gibson has been charged with four conspiracies related to making corrupt payments in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2007 and 2014, and in Ivory Coast between 2007 and 2010. He is also accused of conspiring to falsify invoices between 2007 and 2011.
In addition, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, and Martin Wakefield, former Glencore employees involved in trading West African oil, have been charged with conspiring to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees at state-owned oil companies in Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Cameroon. Wakefield faces an additional charge of conspiring to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011.
All the accused are scheduled to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on September 10.
"Today's action is an important step toward exposing overseas corruption and holding those who are responsible to account," Nick Ephgrave, director of the Serious Fraud Office, said Thursday.
In 2022, Glencore pleaded guilty to charges of corruption and market manipulation in both the US and the UK. The company admitted to paying bribes to secure business across eight countries, from Brazil to South Sudan. To settle the investigations, Glencore agreed to pay approximately $1.5 billion.
Beard's net worth was estimated at £1.2 billion according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
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