The UK will try Glencore's former head of oil in 2027 on charges of bribery

In 2027, Glencore's former oil head Alex Beard will be tried in London on charges of bribery along with five other former employees of the Swiss commodity trading company.

Beard was not asked to enter his plea during a short hearing on Wednesday at London's Southwark Crown Court. He had indicated in his first court appearance that he would plead not-guilty.

The 57-year old is accused of two counts of conspiracy for corrupt payments made to officials of government-owned oil companies and to officials of the Nigerian government between 2010 and 2014.

Beard is the most prominent commodity trader in Britain to be charged with alleged corruption. He joined Glencore from BP in 1995, which was the largest trading desk of that time. From 2007 until 2019, he served as the head of oil.

In its prime, he helped Glencore to become one of three top oil trading companies. It traded as much as 7 percent of the world’s oil.

Five other former Glencore employees, Andrew Gibson, Paul Hopkirk Ramon Labiaga David Perez Martin Wakefield, have been charged for making corrupt payments related to Glencore operations in Nigeria Cameroon Ivory Coast.

Gibson, Perez, and Wakefield have been charged with conspiracy to falsify documentation between 2007 and 2011.

Gibson and Hopkirk did not plead guilty at their first court appearance, last month. Labiaga Perez and Wakefield were not required to enter a plea and did not do so.

The six defendants will formally enter their pleas by October 2025, ahead of the trial scheduled for mid-2027. (Reporting and editing by Sarah Young, Robert Harvey and Sam Tobin)

(source: Reuters)