Katanga Mining’s financial penalties in OSC settlement to top $20 million: sources – by Barbara Shecter (Financial Post – December 18, 2018)

https://business.financialpost.com/

Katanga Mining Ltd., a subsidiary of Anglo-Swiss commodities and mining conglomerate Glencore PLC, is expected to settle serious allegations — including making misleading statements and failing to disclose risks associated with its operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo — at a hearing Dec. 18 in front of Canada’s largest capital markets regulator.

The combined financial penalties in the proposed settlement are understood to exceed $20 million, and a number of individuals are also expected to settle, including a key long-serving executive of the parent company who sat on Katanga’s board, sources say.

The Ontario Securities Commission had been investigating Katanga for months, including whether the firm, whose shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, adequately disclosed risks pertaining to international bribery, government payment and anti-corruption laws. Commission staff disclosed their allegations resulting from the probe in a 33-page document made public on Monday.

The settlement, which must be approved by a panel of commissioners Tuesday, marks the first regulatory move against Katanga and people who are associated with the company. The firm’s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo have also drawn scrutiny from a powerful watchdog in the United States.

Sources say the regulatory probes have involved multiple jurisdictions including Switzerland, the U.S., the United Kingdom and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Katanga has copper and cobalt operations.

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