Former Cameroon Bar Association president Akere Muna has called for the identities of people in Cameroon who benefited from bribes in the Glencore corruption case to be made public. His demand comes after former executives of the Swiss commodities trader appeared in a London court ahead of a trial scheduled for October 2027.

In an opinion piece published on X on September 14, 2026, Muna revived the issue four days after several former Glencore officials appeared before Southwark Crown Court.

On September 10, Alex Beard, Glencore’s former head of oil trading, and Andrew Gibson, a former senior oil executive at the group, pleaded not guilty. Beard is contesting, among other charges, one count of conspiracy to make corrupt payments related to Cameroon. The trial of the six former employees charged in the case is scheduled to begin in October 2027.

For Muna, the British proceedings have increased the urgency of identifying the Cameroonian beneficiaries. “As the October 2027 trial approaches, the names of the Cameroonian intermediaries and beneficiaries must no longer remain buried in British evidence files,” he wrote.

UK Court Identified €10.53 Million in Cameroon-Related Bribes

The case follows the conviction of Glencore Energy UK Ltd. In June 2022, the company pleaded guilty to seven offenses under the UK Bribery Act.

In its November 3, 2022 judgment, Southwark Crown Court found that €10.53 million, or about CFA6.91 billion, in bribes were paid in connection with Cameroon between March 2012 and March 2015. The payments benefited officials at the National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH) and the National Refining Company (Sonara).

According to the British court, the payments were intended to secure favorable treatment for Glencore in the allocation and sale of crude oil and the purchase of petroleum products.

Some of the money passed through commissions and invoices that concealed its ultimate destination. Cash withdrawn in Switzerland was also transported to Cameroon.

Muna has focused his criticism on the contrast between the progress of the British proceedings and the lack of public identification of the beneficiaries in Cameroon. “The most glaring indictment lies not so much in what is happening in London, but rather in what is absolutely not happening in Yaoundé,” he wrote.

Cameroon Investigations Have Yet to Publicly Identify Beneficiaries

Cameroonian authorities have taken steps in connection with the case. The National Anti-Corruption Commission announced an investigation in 2022. On November 6, 2023, SNH also filed a complaint with the Special Criminal Court to identify any Cameroonian accomplices. However, no official source has so far reported the publication of their names or a Cameroonian court ruling on the substance of the case.

“True justice requires that the veil of corporate opacity be lifted in London, and that the shield of political protection be dismantled in Yaoundé,” Muna wrote. He also raised the question of financial compensation for Cameroon.

“While Western treasuries have collected billions of dollars in fines from Glencore, the Cameroonian people — the true victims of the plunder of their sovereign wealth — have seen neither financial restitution nor domestic justice,” he wrote. When Glencore was sentenced in 2022, the British court did not order any compensation for Cameroon.

Source: Business in Cameroon