Billionaire Alex Beard and his former deputy appear in London court over alleged payments to African officials

Glencore’s billionaire former head of oil trading has pleaded ⁠not guilty ⁠to ​two bribery charges after allegedly facilitating payments to west African officials in order to advance the Swiss commodity group’s operations ⁠in the continent.

Alex Beard, 59, denied two counts of conspiracy to make ⁠corrupt payments at Southwark crown court in London on Thursday, in a case brought by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).