Angolan court successfully prosecutes Trafigura for corruption practices in the country.
Rewritten Article:
The Swiss Federal Criminal Court handed down a groundbreaking conviction against commodities trader Trafigura, marking the country's first time holding a company accountable for bribing a foreign public official. Here's what went down:
The Skinny:The case centers on a charting and bunkering scam in Angola between 2009-2011. The corruption involved over €4 million in bank transfers and $600,000 in cold, hard cash exchanged between intermediaries and Angolan officials.
Courtroom Drama:The three-ring circus unfolded in Bellinzona, an Italian-speaking region of Switzerland, and ran from December 2023. The trial underlined Trafigura's lax oversight of intermediaries, with former Chief Operating Officer, Michael Wainwright, being one of the three individuals on trial.
Punishment Dish:- Trafigura: Fined a hefty CHF 3 million (around €3.1 million) for lousy internal controls.- Michael Wainwright: Sentenced to 32 months, serving 12 months behind bars.- Third-party intermediary: takes a walk on the wild side with a 36-month prison term, serving 14 months already.
This court decision sets a legal precedent for corporate criminal liability under Switzerland's anti-corruption framework, sending a clear message to the entire commodities industry. Anti-corruption advocates like Public Eye cheered the verdict, hailing it as the first time a trading company has been convicted of corruption in a public trial.
Switzerland is home to around 900 commodities trading firms, with Geneva and Lugano being their favorite hangouts. Founded in 1993, Trafigura boasts 13,000 employees worldwide and raked in a staggering net profit of almost $2.8 billion in its 2023/2024 fiscal year, ending September 30.
In March 2024, Trafigura, stationed in Singapore but with a strong presence in Geneva, agreed to plead guilty in the United States and shell out $127 million over allegations of corruption in Brazil.
Speaking of guilt trips... stay tuned for more thrilling tales of hubris, greed, and justice.
- The billion-dollar commodities company, Trafigura, was sentenced to pay a CHF 3 million fine for their inadequate compliance measures, as revealed during the crime-and-justice trial in the general-news category.
- Despite being stationed in Singapore, Trafigura's Geneva presence brought them under the Swiss Federal Criminal Court's scrutiny for corruption charges, resulting in former COO Michael Wainwright being sentenced to 32 months in prison, including 12 months served.
- Anti-corruption advocates, such as Public Eye, viewed the Trafigura corruption case as a significant milestone in the crime-and-justice landscape, setting a legal precedent for holding corporate entities accountable for bribing foreign public officials.
