Here’s how Glencore UK dodged its UK taxes— AND why HMRC can’t take them to a UK court

Added: 2026-05-16

[00:00:00]If you didn't pay your taxes, you'd be hauled in front of a judge, right? So, why isn't that happening to one of the UK's biggest oil traders, a company that paid just 57 million pounds in tax on 730 billion pounds of UK business?

[00:00:13]Glencore Energy UK shifts over 80% of its London trading profits to low-tax Switzerland. HMRC called this out back in 2011 as valueless payments, but 15 years on and the money is still flowing.

[00:00:25]And record profits from the oil and gas crisis caused by the war in Iran are making it even more lucrative. HMRC has been chasing Glencore for 1.5 billion pounds in allegedly dodged tax. That's enough to fund free school meals for 3.4 million children. Glencore disputes this, and normally that would mean court, but not here.

[00:00:45]Thanks to a 2021 UK-Swiss agreement and a new Finance Act 2026 provision, Glencore can avoid a public UK courtroom entirely. Instead, unnamed foreign arbitrators will decide the case in secret with a baseball ruling that could wipe out HMRC's claim and even force the UK to repay up to 1 billion pounds. This is what happens when governments and multinational corporations have a parallel justice system. 3.5 billion pounds is now tied up in similar diverted profits disputes. If this two-tier tax system starving schools and hospitals from investment makes your stomach turn, you're not alone. Join our mailing list and help take back control of the UK's tax system so that it can benefit all of us.