On March 10, 2026, the Netherlands’ Public Prosecution Service (“Openbaar Ministerie” or “OM”) announced that it imposed a €25.8 million ($29.6 million) fine on Netherlands-based Fleurette Properties Ltd, which served as the top holding company for a group of companies involved in the extraction of oil and gold from 2010 to 2017. The OM reported that the fine was issued in connection with foreign acts of bribery in the Democratic Republic of Congo (“DRC”). According to the OM, in 2018, prosecutors launched an investigation into several companies suspected of engaging in bribery in the DRC, including Fleurette and Switzerland-based Glencore International AG. The OM issued a penal order against Fleurette on March 6, 2026, after finding that Fleurette conspired with others to engage in foreign bribery in the DRC involving the acquisition of mining licenses. The OM indicated that its case against Glencore was dismissed.
The OM also reported that Swiss authorities launched a separate investigation into possible bribery in the DRC and, on August 5, 2024, imposed a penal order against Glencore.