Glencore pleads guilty in U.K. to bribery at African operations

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Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF) (OTCPK:GLNCY) formally pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the seven charges of bribery brought against it by the U.K. Serious Fraud Office related to the company's oil operations in Africa.

The company confessed to paying $28M in bribes to secure preferential access to oil, increased cargoes, valuable grades of oil and preferable dates of delivery in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan; sentencing has been set for Nov. 2-3.

The SFO is still considering prosecutions against individuals, as it has not yet targeted any people at the company.

Glencore (OTCPK:GLCNF) has been the subject of multiple investigations in the U.K., U.S. and Brazil over the past four years for alleged money laundering and corruption, and said last month that it set aside $1.5B to cover the costs of settlements expected to reach this year.