"Glencore faces probe over alleged payment to Zambian political party", 23 October 2022

"Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has launched an investigation in connection with a matter relating to an alleged $3m (£2.65m) payment made by commodities giant Glencore to a political party in the southern African country.

In a statement, the Zambian corruption watchdog said the investigation is centred on the circumstances under which Glencore allegedly paid the $3m sum before leaving Zambia in 2021 by selling its stake in its local Mopani Copper Mines subsidiary.

Glencore’s exit saw the multinational sell its stake in Mopani to Zambia’s state-owned mining company ZCCM for a sum of just $1 last year, through a deal that saw the Zambian government controlled company take on $1.5bn worth of the mining operation’s debt.

The watchdog noted it had interrogated Zambia’s former defence minister Davies Chama as part of its investigation into the $3m payment...

A Glencore spokesperson said: “Glencore made the decision to exit Mopani in 2020. Glencore engaged in good faith negotiations with the Zambian government over an extended period (2020-2021) to agree a mutually acceptable transaction which was openly and transparently disclosed to all stakeholders.”

“Any suggestion of improper conduct relating to the sale of Mopani to ZCCM-IH is baseless,” the Glencore spokesperson added."