Glencore International pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.186 billion in fines and penalties for corrupt practices in dealings with foreign governments.

The large multinational company is headquartered in Switzerland and has operations worldwide, including Northern Ontario.

It was convicted under the United States Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), as well as for commodity price manipulation.

A press release from the U.S. Department of Justice stated that the guilty plea is part of coordinated decisions with criminal and civil authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil.

The statement said, “The charges in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) case arose from a decade-long scheme by Glencore and its subsidiaries to provide and conceal corrupt payments and bribes through intermediaries for the benefit of foreign officials in several countries.”

“Glencore agreed to a criminal fine exceeding $428 million and to forfeiture and cancellation of more than $272 million. It also agreed to retain an independent compliance monitor for three years.

The administration agreed to adopt nearly $256 million in payments by Glencore to resolve related parallel investigations by other local and foreign authorities.”

Separately, the company also admitted to a multi-year plan to manipulate fuel oil prices at two of the busiest commercial shipping ports in the United States.

Glencore’s conduct also included fraudulent and corrupt payments (such as bribes) to employees and agents of some state-owned entities, including in Brazil, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Venezuela.”

In response, company officials said they fully cooperated in the investigation, pleaded guilty, and made significant investments in “enhancing a culture of integrity, accountability, and transparency.”

Kalidas Madhavpedi, Chairman of Glencore, was quoted in a press release saying, “Glencore today is not the company it was when the unacceptable practices behind this misconduct occurred.”

Gary Nagle, CEO of Glencore, said they are committed to being an “ethical operator” moving forward.

“We have taken significant steps towards building and implementing a world-class ethics and compliance program to ensure our core controls are embedded and effective in every corner of our business.”