(Reuters) - Trafigura is one of the world’s largest independent commodities trading house by turnover, specializing in oil and metals.
Trafigura, which has denied any wrongdoing, is close to offering compensation to 31,000 people who said they became ill from toxic waste dumped around the Ivorian city of Abidjan.
Here are some facts about Trafigura:
- It was founded by Frenchmen Claude Dauphin, Eric de Turkheim and Englishman Graham Sharp in 1993.
- The company is not listed and the founders’ shareholding is not disclosed.
- Its main offices are Trafigura Beheer B.V. in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. A large part of its trading is done through its London offices.
- Trafigura employs about 1,900 people in 42 countries, with offices in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and the Americas.
- Turnover in 2008 was $73 billion.
- The company says it trades an average 1.5 million barrels of crude and oil products a day, making it the third-largest independent oil trader in the world.
- The group has investments in industrial assets globally of more than $1 billion, including: oil storage and delivery facilities in Africa, Central and South America, mostly run by subsidiary Puma Group of Companies; a zinc, lead and silver mine in Peru.
- It has more than $600 million in a resource fund under management by subsidiary Galena Asset Management.
Source: Trafigura, corporate website.
Reporting by Ikuko Kao and Catherine Bosley; Editing by William Hardy
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