LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Glencore's ( GLCNF ) former

head of oil Alex Beard and five other ex-employees of the Swiss

commodity trader will stand trial in a London court in 2027 on

bribery charges.

Beard, who indicated at his first court appearance last

month that he will plead not guilty, was not formally asked to

enter a plea at a brief hearing at London's Southwark Crown

Court on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old is charged with two counts of conspiracy to

make corrupt payments to government officials and officials of

state-owned oil companies: in Nigeria between 2010 and 2014 and

in Cameroon between 2007 and 2014.

Beard, who is the most high-profile commodity trader to have

been charged in Britain for alleged corruption, joined Glencore ( GLCNF )

in 1995 from BP, the biggest trading desk at that time, and was

head of oil from 2007 until 2019, when he retired.

He helped Glencore ( GLCNF ) become one of the top three oil trading

firms, trading as much as 7% of the world's oil in its heyday.

Five other ex-Glencore ( GLCNF ) employees - Andrew Gibson, Paul

Hopkirk, Ramon Labiaga, David Perez and Martin Wakefield - have

been charged with making corrupt payments relating to Glencore's ( GLCNF )

operations in Nigeria, Cameroon or Ivory Coast.

Gibson, Perez and Wakefield are further charged with

conspiracy to falsify documents between 2007 and 2011.

Gibson and Hopkirk indicated not guilty pleas at their first

appearance last month. Labiaga, Perez and Wakefield did not

indicate any pleas and were not required to do so.

All six defendants are expected to formally enter pleas in

October 2025 ahead of a trial in mid-2027.