Former Glencore oil chief and colleagues plead not guilty to bribery accusations
Alex Beard, the ex-head of oil trading at Glencore, denied two conspiracy charges at Southwark Crown Court, while his former deputy also pleaded not guilty.
At Southwark Crown Court, Alex Beard, the billionaire who once led Glencore’s oil trading division, entered a not-guilty plea to two charges of conspiracy to make corrupt payments to West African officials. Prosecutors allege the payments were intended to secure business for the Swiss commodity group in Nigeria (2010-2014) and Cameroon (2007-2014). Beard’s former deputy, Andrew Gibson, 66, also denied four conspiracy counts involving Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, as well as a separate charge of falsifying accounting documents.
Earlier, four other ex-Glencore traders—Martin Wakefield, David Perez, Paul Hopkirk and Ramon Labiaga—had each pleaded not guilty to the same set of allegations. The Serious Fraud Office confirmed the six defendants will stand trial in October 2027.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing scrutiny of multinational firms for alleged corruption in African markets.
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