The Managing Director of the National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH), Adolphe Moudiki, reiterated his impatience to see the judges of the Special Criminal Court (TCS) finally open the investigation in Cameroon, as part of the prosecution of the accomplices of the Swiss multinational Glencore, accused of corruption in the country.
Adolphe Moudiki’s statement echoes the pre-trial hearing held on October 9, 2024 at Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom. This session made it possible to set the procedural timetable for the trial of former Glencore employees, accused of corruption in the oil trading sector in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. According to this schedule, the trial is scheduled for June 2027, pushing back the prospect of the arrest of their local accomplices.
In Cameroon, the Managing Director of the National Hydrocarbons Company (SNH) Adolphe Moudiki recalled that the company he manages, having filed a complaint before the Special Criminal Court (TCS) on November 6, 2023, is still awaiting the opening of hearings in Cameroon. This complaint follows the conviction in November 2022 of the oil group Glencore by the British courts, which had recognized the role of the multinational in acts of corruption involving members of the government, and officials of the SNH and Sonara (National Refining Company).
While the local investigation seems to be at a standstill, Adolphe Moudiki is trying to put pressure on the Cameroonian justice system to speed up the procedures in Cameroon so that justice can be done without waiting for the results of the British courts. “The Managing Director of SNH remains confident that the Cameroonian accomplices in these criminal acts acknowledged by Glencore will be quickly identified and punished in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Cameroonian Penal Code,” he wrote. This delay observed in Cameroon, combined with the arrangements made between Glencore and the foreign judicial authorities, casts doubt on the outcome of this case.
The second hearing in the Glencore case concluded just moments ago in London, England, revealing that no names have been disclosed at this stage, as the trial has yet to commence. Substantive debates are scheduled to begin on June 1, 2027, as announced by a judge from the Southwark Crown Court on October 9, 2024.
Former executives of Glencore Plc, accused of corruption in West and Central Africa by the United Kingdom, will also have to await the year 2027 for their trial. The backlog in English courts has been exacerbated by years of underfunding, the COVID-19 pandemic, and ongoing lawyer strikes.
The investigation has been conducted by the Serious Fraud Office. In Cameroon, a complaint has been lodged by the Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures (SNH) with the Special Criminal Court. The SNH has indicated that the London trial will provide insights into those responsible for the corruption, but they too will have to wait until 2027 for clarity.
The judge at Southwark Crown Court stated that the trial is expected to last six months, running from June 2027 to December 2027.
