Cameroon state oil firm says staff linked to Glencore bribes will face UK court
By Amindeh Blaise Atabong
YAOUNDE, Aug 3 (Reuters) -The head of Cameroon's National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) has said some managers and employees will appear before a UK court over suspected involvement in bribery offences linked to Swiss commodity trader Glencore GLEN.L.
Adolphe Moudiki, SNH's administrator and director general, had previously denied staff involvement but late on Friday issued a statement saying some employees had been identified as suspects and would appear before a British court on Sept. 10.
In June 2022, Glencore's UK subsidiary pleaded guilty at a London court to seven counts of bribery in connection with oil operations in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and South Sudan.
On Thursday, Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged Glencore's former head of oil Alex Beard with two conspiracies to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees of state-owned oil companies in Nigeria and in Cameroon.
"SNH welcomes the progress of proceedings against the perpetrators and accomplices of the acts of corruption that have tarnished its image," Moudiki said in the statement.
He did not say how many SNH staff were involved.
Glencore's UK subsidiary has admitted it paid bribes in Cameroon to SNH officials and others to the sum of 7 billion CFA francs ($11 million) to secure preferential access to oil between 2011 and 2016.
Cameroonian lawyer and anti-corruption specialist Akere Muna said SNH should disclose identities of those involved and suspend all dealings with Glencore.
"The culprits are within Cameroon, the transactions that gave rise to the corruption took place in Cameroon yet they expect us to believe the solution will come from London," said Muna, a former vice-chairperson of corruption watchdog Transparency International.
In July 2022, Cameroon's state anti-corruption commission said an investigation into the bribery offences was underway, but it has not since shared further details.
SNH is a state company that sells the share of national crude oil production accruing to the state on the international market.
Editing by Alessandra Prentice and Andrew Cawthorne
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