Indictment against raw materials company for corruption
Published: Wednesday, Dec 6th 2023, 13:20
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The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has filed charges against three individuals and the commodities company Trafigura Beheer BV. The case concerns corruption payments. For the first time, the Federal Criminal Court must assess the responsibility of a company in the bribery of foreign public officials.
The OAG opened a criminal investigation against persons unknown in July 2020 on suspicion of bribery of foreign public officials and money laundering in connection with possible corruption payments to Angolan public officials. This was revealed in an OAG statement published on Wednesday. In August 2021, the criminal investigation was extended to include the first suspect.
BA writes that this is the former managing director and board member of Sonangol Distribuidora SA, the subsidiary of the state oil company of Angola (Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola EP, Sonangol).
Between January and March 2023, the investigation into suspected bribery of foreign public officials was extended to a former intermediary of the Trafigura Group in Angola and to the former Managing Director and member of the Management Board of Trafigura Beheer BV, as well as to the company itself.
Branches in Geneva and Lucerne
According to the OAG, Trafigura Beheer, which is domiciled in the Netherlands, was the reference parent company of the commodities trading company Trafigura between 2009 and 2011. It had branches in Geneva and Lucerne. At that time, the Trafigura Group was particularly active in Angola in the areas of ship chartering and bunkering.
Its most important counterparty was the Angolan government, or rather Sonangol EP and its subsidiaries, in particular Sonangol Distribuisora SA, which was responsible for the distribution and marketing of petroleum products.
According to the indictment, between April 2009 and October 2011, the first accused allegedly accepted undue advantages in his capacity as an Angolan public official in the form of money transfers of around 4.3 million euros to a bank account in Geneva, cash payments totaling 604,000 US dollars in Angola and hotel accommodation and catering costs of 800 francs in connection with a stay in Geneva.
Acting via Offshore-Firman
The second defendant, who acted through an offshore company as an intermediary for the Trafigura group of companies, where he was formerly employed, allegedly granted part of the aforementioned sums to the Angolan public official between August 2009 and October 2011 in the form of transfers of 3.9 million euros to an account in Geneva and the cash payments in US dollars in Angola.
The third defendant is alleged to have granted some of the above-mentioned sums between July 2009 and October 2011, primarily in his capacity as a manager of the Trafigura group of companies based in Geneva. Alternatively, he is accused of having permitted these undue advantages by omission.
In return for the above-mentioned funds, the Angolan official is said to have favored the interests of the group of companies. Thanks to the income from these contracts, the group is said to have made profits of 143.7 million US dollars to date.
Poor organization
The OAG accuses Trafigura Beheer of not having taken all necessary and reasonable organizational precautions to prevent the commission of criminal offences involving the active bribery of foreign public officials.
The Trafigura Group's internal regulations allegedly did not comply with international standards for the prevention of corruption. This risk was all the greater as the group was linked to a state-owned company in Angola and used intermediaries to develop its business in this country. This so-called disorganization is said to have manifested itself right up to the highest hierarchical level of the company.
Trafigura Beheer intends to defend itself in court against the accusations made against it, as the company writes in a press release published on Wednesday. The former managing director, who is also on trial, rejects all accusations.
©Keystone/SDA
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