Glencore has suspended a senior executive amid the escalating scandal over its dealings with iron ore trader Radiant World, days after Radiant filed a $2 billion legal claim in Singapore against three Glencore entities.
The Financial Times reported that Peter Hill, Glencore's head of steelmaking raw materials, had been stood down pending a review of the miner's business with Radiant World and associated companies. Glencore shares fell in London trading as the report emerged, reflecting investor unease about how deep the affair runs inside one of the world's largest commodity traders.
Radiant's claim alleges that the true nature of the companies' trading arrangements was kept out of audited records. Glencore has dismissed the claims as meritless and said it will contest them vigorously. The company says it has itself incurred losses and been exposed to risks through the relationship.
In a statement, Glencore said it had confirmed evidence that Radiant World and associated companies sent falsified invoices and contracts, as well as fabricated emails purporting to come from Glencore personnel, to a number of financial institutions. It said it had stopped doing business with the companies and exited all obligations.
The suspension followed questions from journalists about the executive's involvement in the relationship. Glencore said its exposure to Radiant World and associated companies, which include Sapphire Minmetals, was not material to its financial position, putting it below a $500 million threshold — a disclosure intended to reassure markets even as the legal claim is far larger.
The episode is a reputational test for a group that has spent years trying to move beyond earlier corruption scandals and settlements with regulators in several countries. A dispute involving allegedly falsified documents, internal suspensions and a multibillion-dollar claim invites exactly the scrutiny Glencore has sought to leave behind.
For now, the company insists its review is thorough and its financial exposure limited. But with litigation in Singapore, questions about internal controls, and a senior figure suspended, the Radiant World affair looks set to occupy Glencore's leadership for months rather than weeks.
The affair also raises governance questions that go beyond one suspended executive. Commodity traders handle enormous flows of goods and credit on the strength of documents — invoices, contracts and warehouse records — that counterparties and banks must be able to trust. When a major house says documents in its name were fabricated and sent to lenders, every participant in that market has an interest in knowing how the papers circulated, who relied on them, and what checks failed. Glencore's internal review, and the Singapore litigation, will be watched by rivals and regulators alike for exactly those answers.