A Dutch court has fined an oil trading company $1.28m for exporting toxic waste to the Ivory Coast, and concealing the dangerous nature of the material. The judge hearing the case at Amsterdam district court on Friday said Trafigura had carried out what European regulations aimed to prevent: "Namely the export of waste to the Third World and harming the environment".
Frans Bauduin also convicted a Trafigura employee for his role in the 2006 incident and the Ukranian captain of the Probo Koala ship that carried the toxic waste.
At least 17 people were reported to have died and more than 100,000 sought medical help after the illegal dumping took place, according to the Ivory Coast government.
Friday's ruling is the first time Trafigura has faced criminal charges over the toxic waste scandal.
The company said it would study the court's decision with a view to filing an appeal, and said it maintained that its employee had done nothing wrong.
Trafigura has denied that the waste they carried caused any illness, but paid out $50m in compensation to 31,000 people in the Ivory Coast in September 2009.
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