$190 MILLION SETTLEMENT BY TRAFIGURA OF TOXIC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABIDJAN 000225

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/27/2017
TAGS: ECON PGOV IV
SUBJECT: $190 MILLION SETTLEMENT BY TRAFIGURA OF TOXIC
WASTE SCANDAL PROVOKES OUTCRY, SHOWS PRESIDENT FIRMLY IN
CHARGE

REF: ABIDJAN 174

Classified By: EconChief EMassinga, Reasons 1.4. (b, d)


1. (SBU) Summary. The widely-reported February 13
"amicable" settlement of $190 million between the government
of Cote d'Ivoire and the Dutch-based oil trading firm
Trafigura to end current and future litigation and criminal
proceedings against the firm and its subsidiaries continues
to reverberate here and generate substantial criticism from
most of the political spectrum. The deal, seen as a payoff
of or extortion by government officials who approved the
dumping in the first place, freed two French executives who
had been incarcerated since September. The President has
shrugged off ongoing condemnation of the accord, which shows
above all else that he maintains a firm grip on the levers of
power, and has decisively marginalized Prime Minister Banny.
Banny, according a member of his inner circle, is outraged
over the accord. End Summary.


2. (SBU) The publicly-released February 13 accord signed by
key Presidential aide Desire Tagro and representatives from
Trafigura and its subsidiaries (most prominent among them
Puma, the Ivorian company set up in the summer of 2006 that
was most directly implicated in the infamous toxic waste
scandal) relieves Trafigura of all legal claims the
government of Cote d'Ivoire may pursue against the company,
civil and criminal. Of the $190 million, $146 million is
ostensibly designated by the agreement to go the State of
Cote d'Ivoire as well as damages to the victims. $44 million
is supposed to be used to reimburse Tredi, the French company
hastily selected by the Prime Minister's office to coordinate
the toxic waste cleanup and removal. Additionally, Cote
d'Ivoire will build a household waste facility in the Abidjan
area, which will be subsidized by a Trafigura payment of $10
million upon the plant's completion. The State of Cote
d'Ivoire, for its part, agreed to "take care of any claim
concerning the Events," "take every appropriate measure aimed
at ensuring the victims of the Events are compensated," and
most importantly, agrees to "definitively give up any present
or future pursuit, claim, action, legal proceeding that it
might take against Trafigura Parties should these pursuits,
claims, actions or legal proceedings have or are likely to
have a direct or indirect bearing on the cause, the
consequence or purpose of the Events."


3. (C) The protocol (for which Tagro flew in from direct
dialogue talks in Ouagadougou to sign) requires all of the
money, including that designated for Tredi, be paid to an
account at a private bank to be controlled by the Government
of Cote d'Ivoire. While the Ministry of Finance controls the
disposition of the settlement funds, a senior official there
indicated to an EmbOff that "the disposition of the funds has
not yet been determined." Emboff also contacted a
representative from Tredi, who indicated that the question of
payment for services rendered is still "under discussion."


4. (SBU) The Prime Minister's office, which was the focal
point for the government's initial response to the disaster,
was notably excluded from the negotiations. Safiatou Ba
N'Daw, the PM's Chair of the Operational Coordinating
Committee for the National Plan for Fighting Toxic Wastes,
set up as the tragedy was unfolding to coordinate the efforts
of various ministries, publicly announced she had been
unaware of the deal, and swiftly denounced it as a "travesty
of justice." Ba N'Daw discussed the case with EmbOff on the
very day a lengthy, critical article in Soir Info (a
generally sensationalist independent daily) quoted unnamed
sources close to the President alleging she pocketed $6
million in administrative funds. She spun a tale implicating
the President in an attempt to silence her, alleging the
Presidency's collusion with Trafigura and hinting that former
Trafigura CEO Marc Rich maintains some role in the company
and the present matter. Specifically, Ba N'Daw said her
offices in the Prime Minister's compound were bugged and that
veiled threats against her life had been made by people close
to the President should she continue to speak out. She said
the President's deal with Trafigura was illegal and
unconstitutional, and that the Prime Minister was so outraged
he refuses to read it. She dismissed the accord as woefully
insufficient, saying the total would not cover soil treatment
and removal costs.


5. (SBU) The chorus of criticism extended the full range of
the political spectrum. Papers close to the opposition
termed the deal "an attempt to buy immunity" (24 Heures),"a
revolting action of corruption" (PDCI-affiliated Nouveau
Reveil),and a "shameful accord" (RDR-aligned Le Patriote).
Civil society groups joined the critique. LIDHO, a prominent
human rights groupm, said the deal undercuts the State's
pursuit of $1 billion (Note: the Ministry of Justice, in

ABIDJAN 00000225 002 OF 002


charge of the legal case prior to the
Presidentially-negotiated deal, is effectively associated
with the Forces Nouvelles, and represented the NF in recent
Ouagadougou talks on identification. End Note). Another
human rights group, MIDH, said the deal was a "reward for
those people who killed Ivorians." Victims' groups spokesmen
also slammed the accord, saying the government had not
consulted them; UK-based law firm Leigh Day, representing
victims' groups, said that they intend to pursue civil
action, setting up a potential legal clash given the
government of Cote d'Ivoire's agreement to "take care of any
claims concerning the Events." The political opposition did
not spare the government: Alassane Ouattara, leader of the
RDR, condemned "this intrusion by the Head of State in the
investigation of this case" and "regards this agreement as a
new act of contempt for the victims." The PDCI said the
accord was "a mockery and offensive." The case continues to
draw attention: one paper declared that the Gbagbo-controlled
state TV channel was banned from covering the case (which RTI
executives contacted by LES staff said was untrue but
reaffirmed by Ba N'Daw to EmbOff) and another paper alleged
that a secret addendum to the accord calls for Trafigura to
maintain the Presidential Grumman jet.


5. (C) Comment. The settlement of the toxic waste scandal
remains broadly unpopular. It smacks of another payoff to
government officials who approved (explicitly or tacitly) the
dumping in the first place or extortion by these same
officials, who were effectively holding the Trafigura
executives for ransom. It is altogether likely President
Gbagbo knew ahead of time the agreement would generate bad
press, but chose to proceed knowing that PM Banny and other
political actors were powerless to impede him. This case, as
that of the recent reinstatement of a Gbagbo crony atop the
national postal system and the reinstatement of high customs
and port officials implicated by the Prime Minister's
commission of inquiry examining the toxic waste case, shows
decisively the President is boss. Few believe much of the
money will ever go to the victims of this scandal. End
Comment.
Hooks