Glencore faces probe over alleged payment to Zambian political party

Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation in connection with a matter relating to an alleged $3m (£2.65m) payment made by commodities giant Glencore to a political party in the southern African country.

In a statement, the Zambian corruption watchdog said the investigation is centred on the circumstances under which Glencore allegedly paid the $3m sum before leaving Zambia in 2021 by selling its stake in its local Mopani Copper Mines subsidiary.

Glencore’s exit saw the multinational sell its stake in Mopani to Zambia’s state-owned mining company ZCCM for a sum of just $1 last year, through a deal that saw the Zambian government controlled company take on $1.5bn worth of the mining operation’s debt.

The watchdog noted it had interrogated Zambia’s former defence minister Davies Chama as part of its investigation into the $3m payment.

Chama previously served in the cabinet of former Zambian president Edward Lungu following the Patriotic Front (PF) party’s electoral victory in 2016, before the social democratic PF was pushed out of government by the liberal United Party for National Development’s (UPND’s) landslide victory in 2021.

Lungu’s PF government had previously held tense relations with those international mining companies invested in Zambia, including Glencore, over concerns around taxes on the sector.

A Glencore spokesperson said: “Glencore made the decision to exit Mopani in 2020. Glencore engaged in good faith negotiations with the Zambian government over an extended period (2020-2021) to agree a mutually acceptable transaction which was openly and transparently disclosed to all stakeholders.”

“Any suggestion of improper conduct relating to the sale of Mopani to ZCCM-IH is baseless,” the Glencore spokesperson added.

The probe comes after a coalition of major investors, including Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund, the UAE’s state-owned investor, and Norway’s state-controlled asset manager, filed a High Court lawsuit against Glencore, after bribery charges were brought against the firm by US, UK, and Brazilian authorities.

The charges centred on a series of bribes paid out by the mining giant in relation to a series of African and South American oil deals which saw Glencore settle with US authorities in May for more than $1bn.

However the lawsuit, which is backed by major financiers including British Airways Pensions Trust, Standard Life, and HSBC, is focused on the loss of earnings revealed by the bribery investigation.