Glencore’s ex-head of oil faces 2027 trial in UK court on bribery charges
LONDON (Reuters) – Glencore’s former head of oil Alex Beard and five other ex-employees of the Swiss commodity trader will stand trial in a London court in 2027 on bribery charges.
Beard, who indicated at his first court appearance last month that he will plead not guilty, was not formally asked to enter a plea at a brief hearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday.
The 57-year-old is charged with two counts of conspiracy to make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of state-owned oil companies: in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014.
Beard, who is the most high-profile commodity trader to have been charged in Britain for alleged corruption, joined Glencore in 1995 from BP, the biggest trading desk at that time, and was head of oil from 2007 until 2019, when he retired.
He helped Glencore become one of the top three oil trading firms, trading as much as 7% of the world’s oil in its heyday.
Five other ex-Glencore employees – Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, David Perez and Martin Wakefield – have been charged with making corrupt payments relating to Glencore’s operations in Nigeria, Cameroon or Ivory Coast.
Gibson, Perez and Wakefield are further charged with conspiracy to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011.
Gibson and Hopkirk indicated not guilty pleas at their first appearance last month. Labiaga, Perez and Wakefield did not indicate any pleas and were not required to do so.
All six defendants are expected to formally enter pleas in October 2025 ahead of a trial in mid-2027.
