The Big Take

Corrupt Oil Trader Turns On Colleagues in Massive Africa Bribe Case

A London-based trader funneled millions of dollars to African officials. When he was caught, he talked.

Glencore headquarters in Baar, Switzerland.Photographer: Gianluca Colla/Bloomberg
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When Anthony Stimler left Glencore Plc in August 2019, he had two big secrets: For a dozen years, he’d paid millions in bribes to African officials and intermediaries. And he was now helping a U.S. Justice Department investigation into the company and numerous former colleagues.

Corruption isn’t exactly unheard of in the extraction and trading of commodities, especially in the developing world. But details of Stimler’s cooperation deal, obtained from the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan and which haven’t been reported before, offer a rare opportunity to see how it works — the scale, scope and almost routine nature of such transactions.