LONDON – Institutional investors in Glencore will sue the world’s biggest commodities trader for share price declines from bribery investigations in the US, the UK and Canada, a law firm representing them said after the latest probe was announced.
Boies Schiller Flexner said the suit is “expected to run into the billions,” after Glencore disclosed on Thursday that the UK’s Serious Fraud Office was investigating it, prompting a 9% drop in its share price. The investigation comes on the back of overlapping inquiries in the US and Canada that have helped drive Glencore’s stock down in the past 18 months.
“Whilst we have been working on the claim for a number of months now, and have secured litigation funding as well as provision for adverse costs, today’s announcement that the SFO is opening an enquiry into bribery at Glencore can only serve to strengthen the claims of institutional investors,” Natasha Harrison, Boies Schiller’s managing partner in London, said in a statement.
A spokesperson for Glencore declined to comment.
The probes have raised questions about how commodities trading is conducted around the world, notably in Brazil, where Glencore is under investigation in connection with the country’s massive “carwash” scandal.
The suit Boies announced is the latest in a string of bad news for Glencore that has clouded the final stretch of CEO Ivan Glasenberg’s tenure. Glasenberg has said he is planning to step down soon. Dealing with the investigations has become a major part of his role.