The U.S. Justice Department has demanded that Glencore PLC hand over records related to the Anglo-Swiss mining giant’s compliance with laws against foreign-corrupt practices and money laundering concerning its business in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Venezuela.
Glencore GLEN, -10.68% , which disclosed it had received a subpoena in a statement Tuesday, said it is reviewing the request and “will provide further information in due course.” The company said the subpoena was dated July 2 and relates to its operations in the three countries from 2007 to the present. Shares of Glencore fell more than 12% in early trading.
Glencore has oil businesses in Venezuela and Nigeria. In Congo, Glencore operates a pair of giant copper mining operations that also produce cobalt, a key ingredient of lithium-ion batteries that power mobile phones and electric vehicles.
Since the U.S. government’s subpoena covers several countries, that indicates “there is a relatively thorough investigation at hand,” said Tyler Broda, an analysts at RBC Capital Markets.
An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.
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