RIYADH: Australian multinational mining firm BHP and Anglo-Swiss mining firm Glencore have paid out a record $12 billion dividends to investors, despite the latter being plagued by years-long scandal involving bribery and corruption investigations. Glencore, listed on London"s FTSE 100, has dedicated $1.5 billion to cover the costs of these investigations, which also include market manipulation relating to its mining operations. This comes as the mining giants’ material prices continue to soar, The Guardian reported. BHP, alone, has announced a total of $7.6 billion half year dividend on Tuesday. This comes as profits hit $9.7 billion in the second half of 2021, representing a 57 percent increase compared with the corresponding period in 2020. BHP relies on mining iron ore located in Western Australia for the bulk of its profits. This has proved controversial for some of its investors as significant cultural sites are at risk of being destroyed in the process. Therefore, the company is planning to procure 50 percent of its revenues from “future facing commodities” such as metals. Glencore has paid $4 billion worth of dividends to its shareholders. This comes as the firm’s profits reached $21.3 billion, representing an 83 percent growth when compared to 2020.