Swiss prosecutors have unveiled damning allegations against commodities trading behemoth Trafigura, accusing the firm of orchestrating a €5 million bribery scheme targeting an Angolan official. The unsealed indictment places the late Claude Dauphin, Trafigura’s founder, at the centre of the corruption scandal.
The 150-page document details how Trafigura Beheer BV, the former parent company, allegedly failed to prevent serious corruption between 2009 and 2011. Mike Wainwright, the company’s former chief operating officer who retired this year, faces direct accusations of bribery in what marks a significant escalation in the case.
The prosecution’s evidence suggests €4.3 million was channelled into Geneva bank accounts registered to Angolan civil servant Paulo Gouveia Junior, with an additional $604,000 delivered in cash within Angola. Gouveia, who served as CEO of Sonangol Distribuidora, the state-owned oil company’s distribution arm, allegedly secured contracts worth $143.7 million in profits for Trafigura.
Court documents reveal an intricate web of transactions orchestrated through an intermediary dubbed “Mr Non-Compliant” by Dauphin himself. This individual, a former Trafigura employee whose identity remains protected under Swiss law, operated a consultancy with Trafigura as its sole client.
The prosecution’s case includes evidence of Gouveia’s stay at Geneva’s luxurious Four Seasons Hôtel des Bergues, charged to Trafigura’s account, and documentation of corporate shell companies established in the Virgin Islands. The trial, scheduled to commence on December 2 in Switzerland’s central criminal court in Bellinzona, represents the first major case directly implicating top-tier leadership in commodity trading corruption.
Trafigura maintains its innocence, asserting its anti-corruption controls met international standards during the period in question. Wainwright’s legal team has vowed to mount a robust defence, expressing confidence that the allegations will be dismissed in court.
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