Glencore’s Billionaire Ex-Oil Chief and Deputy Plead NOT GUILTY to West Africa Bribery Charges

Two of Glencore’s most senior former oil executives have formally denied conspiring to bribe officials in Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, setting up a high-profile six-month trial in London next year.

Alex Beard, Glencore’s former head of oil trading, and Andrew Gibson, his former deputy and head of oil operations, appeared at Southwark Crown Court on 10 September 2026 and entered not-guilty pleas.

• Beard, who became a billionaire after Glencore’s 2011 London listing, faces two counts of conspiracy to make corrupt payments.

• Gibson faces four such counts plus an additional charge of conspiring to falsify accounting documents.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) alleges the pair were involved in arrangements to make corrupt payments to government officials and employees of state-owned oil companies between 2007 and 2014.

The alleged purpose was to secure advantageous oil contracts for Glencore.

• Beard’s charges cover Nigeria (2010–2014) and Cameroon (2007–2014).

• Gibson’s charges also include Côte d’Ivoire (2007–2010).

The document-falsification allegation relates to invoices described as “service fees” paid to a Nigerian oil consultancy.

Four other former Glencore traders pleaded not guilty to related charges last year.

• Martin Wakefield,

• David Perez,

• Paul Hopkirk and

• Ramon Labiaga

All six defendants are due to stand trial together from 4 October 2027.

The individual prosecutions follow Glencore’s own 2022 guilty pleas.

The company admitted bribery in West Africa and other jurisdictions and paid more than $1 billion in combined penalties to US, UK and Brazilian authorities. US prosecutors previously stated that Glencore paid more than $52 million to intermediaries in Nigeria alone, expecting those funds to be used as bribes, and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in profits.

The SFO’s case against the former executives is a continuation of that investigation.

Beard and Gibson deny the allegations and have been granted bail. Glencore has said it cooperated with the SFO and resolved the corporate investigation in 2022.

The case is one of the most significant individual prosecutions of commodities-trading executives brought by the SFO. It will test whether senior decision-makers can be held personally liable for conduct the company itself has already admitted.

Sources

• The Guardian, 10 September 2026: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/sep/10/glencore-former-head-oil-alex-beard-pleads-not-guilty-bribery

• Reuters, 10 September 2026: https://www.reuters.com/world/ex-glencore-head-oil-pleads-not-guilty-uk-bribery-charges-ahead-2027-trial-2026-09-10/

• UK Serious Fraud Office case page: https://www.gov.uk/sfo-cases/glencore-employees

• SFO charging announcement, August 2024: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/sfo-charges-five-former-glencore-employees