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British billionaire Alex Beard, the former head of oil at commodities giant Glencore, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to make corrupt payments linked to the company’s oil operations in West Africa.
Beard, 59, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London on September 10, where he denied allegations brought by the UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) concerning alleged corrupt payments to officials in Nigeria and Cameroon.
Prosecutors allege that Beard was involved in a conspiracy to make corrupt payments to government or state-owned oil company officials in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014. Beard has denied the charges.
The case is part of a wider prosecution involving six former Glencore employees accused of conspiring to make corrupt payments to benefit the company’s oil operations in West Africa. The SFO says the charges relate to the awarding of oil contracts spanning Cameroon, Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire between 2007 and 2014.
Beard appeared in court alongside Andrew Gibson, Glencore’s former head of oil operations. Gibson, 66, pleaded not guilty to four counts of conspiracy to make corrupt payments relating to Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire. He also denied an additional charge of conspiracy to falsify documents for accounting purposes.
Four other former Glencore oil traders, Martin Wakefield, David Perez, Paul Hopkirk and Ramon Labiaga, have also pleaded not guilty to related charges. All six defendants are scheduled to stand trial from October 4, 2027.
The prosecution follows Glencore’s earlier corporate bribery case. In 2022, Glencore Energy (UK) pleaded guilty to seven counts of bribery relating to payments made to secure preferential access to oil and was ordered to pay £280 million in penalties and confiscation of proceeds. The corporate case was separate from the current prosecution of the former employees.
Beard became a billionaire after Glencore’s flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 2011. He joined Glencore in 1995 after working as an oil trader at BP and later became the company’s global head of oil, a position he held until his retirement in 2019. His wealth became public when Glencore listed in London and disclosed the value of shares held by senior executives.
The SFO first charged Beard and four other former Glencore employees with conspiring to make corrupt payments in August 2024. A sixth defendant, David Perez, was subsequently charged as part of the case. The agency says the alleged conduct involved contracts and payments connected to Glencore’s West African oil operations.
Beard’s latest court appearance marks the formal entry of his not-guilty plea ahead of the 2027 trial. The allegations against him have not been proven in court. The SFO says it will continue pursuing the case against all six former Glencore employees ahead of the October 2027 trial.
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