LONDON (Reuters) – Commodities trader Glencore told shareholderS on Wednesday that it was confident its transactions in the Democratic Republic of Congo were “entirely proper” and dismissed calls for an independent inquiry into the deals.
Anti-corruption campaign group Global Witness, in a memo reviewing mining transactions in Congo since 2010, had called on Glencore to provide more detail on what it said were “potentially corrupt deals” in the country and on its relationship with an influential Israeli businessman, Dan Gertler.
“We see no need to hold an independent inquiry at this stage. The board oversees all our assets, including those (in Congo),” Glencore Chairman Simon Murray said at the company’s inaugural AGM.
Global Witness had said both Glencore and Gertler had categorically denied involvement in corruption.