Nigerian Trader Sues Glencore Over Failed Payments for Sailors’ Release

By Javier Blas and Jesse Riseborough

(Bloomberg) — Glencore Plc is being sued by a former consultant in Nigeria who says the commodities dealer promised him $5 million to assist free 15 Russian sailors detained on suspicion of smuggling weapons.

[contextly_sidebar id=”bPmkaqyJnZWjXLTFa4od0NqIBmcV5ccf”]Og Amazu, proprietor of dealer Amazoil Nigeria Ltd., says in a London lawsuit that Alex Beard, Glencore’s head of oil, did not pay the price in return for his help. Amazu, who claims to have earned $64 million working for Glencore since 2007, says within the grievance that he organized conferences with “high-ranking” Nigerian safety officers on the behest of Beard to assist free crew members of the Seadiver.

Amazu defined on the conferences “Glencore had been an extremely loyal and sizeable investor in Nigeria and that it was extremely concerned about the situation,” attorneys for Amazu mentioned within the lawsuit filed final week.

“The allegations are baseless and we will vigorously defend the case against us,” Baar, Switzerland-based Glencore mentioned in a press release. Beard declined to remark.

Beard, a 20-year veteran of Glencore, has a 2.4 % stake within the buying and selling firm, valued at $1.4 billion. Amazu is looking for a complete of $10 million. If true, it gives a uncommon glimpse into the opaque world of commodity buying and selling in Africa, the place Glencore, a $57 billion London-listed firm, is without doubt one of the greatest gamers.

Glencore traded up 1 % at 277.75 pence as of 9:26 a.m. on Wednesday in London. The shares are nonetheless down nearly 50 % since their preliminary providing within the metropolis in 2011.

Crew Release

Amazu says he was requested by Beard in April 2013 to help within the launch of the Seadiver crew, which was working for OAO SovComFlot, a Russian state-owned firm and a consumer of Glencore. The crew was arrested in Lagos that yr on suspicion of smuggling 14 Kalashnikov rifles, 22 Benelli MR1 rifles and eight,000 rounds of ammunition.

Amazu alleges that Beard advised him he would prepare partial cost of the $5 million price by Glimer Ltd., an organization integrated within the British Virgin Islands. Beard allegedly mentioned the cost must be structured by a mortgage settlement, however it might be renewed indefinitely.

Amazu can also be suing Glencore for allegedly failing to pay him one other $5 million he claims he’s owed for organizing conferences between Beard and Nigerian officers in London in 2014.

Peter Grauer, chairman of Bloomberg LP, the father or mother of Bloomberg News, is a senior unbiased non-executive director of Glencore.

The case is Amazu v Glencore, High Court of Justice Queen’s Bench Division, Case No. 2015-684