Banned in the United Kingdom

An undercover documentary banned in the United Kingdom reveals the toxic waste dumping crime committed by $230 billion USD oil company Trafigura in Ivory Coast, Africa.

Vimeo commenter: Thank you, whoever you are, for making this available. As you know here in the UK we're not allowed to read or see any of this.

Vimeo (download) | Trafigura drivers: We were bribed

This incident represents one of the most egregious environmental crimes in human history. The CEO of Trafigura initially ordered the deadly toxic waste to be dumped into the ocean:

CEO of Trafigura: ‘Beyond Dover, and certainly not in the Baltic Sea, because this is a special area. The discharge may not take place until Dover has passed, on the way to Lomé (Nigeria)‘.

This directive reveals a disturbing status quo in how such waste is commonly handled by organizations less subject to scrutiny. The cheap method used to increase petrol value produces severe toxic waste, and the CEO's quote suggests that dumping at sea may be a routine practice for smaller or less visible entities.

Ultimately, instead of the ocean, the toxic waste was dumped in Ivory Coast. This decision resulted in 15 deaths and over 100,000 people becoming severely ill, with 26,000 requiring acute hospitalization.

(2009) How oil company Trafigura tried to cover up toxic waste dump “Caustic washes are banned by most countries due to the hazardous nature of the waste (mercaptans, phenols)” Source: The Guardian (PDF backup)

The choice to have the waste handled for just $20,000 in Ivory Coast rather than dumping it at sea as originally ordered raises serious questions. A $230 billion USD firm does not make such decisions lightly. This shift in plans demands further investigation and explanation.

Rabobank's Responsibility

Rabobank, a Fortune 500 investment bank headquartered in Utrecht, Netherlands, a bank known as farmers bank that is dedicated to GMO, bears significant responsibility for this environmental disaster as a top financing partner of Trafigura. Rabobank continues to maintain this partnership even after the incident, as evidenced by Trafigura's own website trafigura.com:

“Rabobank, one of Trafigura’s top lenders, seeks to play a significant role in ensuring food security (GMO).”

Trafigura.com: our financing partner Rabobank Source: Trafigura.com

Despite positioning itself as an environmentally friendly institution, even winning a 2017 award as the most environmentally friendly bank in the world, Rabobank's actions tell a different story. The recent Stop Rabobank campaign launched by Netherlands and Extinction Rebellion Netherlands, which filed a €13 billion claim for destruction of nature, further exposes this discrepancy between image and reality.

Rabobank's Corruption and Retaliation

Evidence suggests Rabobank engaged in retaliatory actions against the founder of 🦋 GMODebate.org, who had critically reported on the Trafigura case. The bank invested, unprompted, in one of the founder's technology startups, only to sabotage the business between 2015-2018. This was followed by involvement in a 2019 attack on the founder's home in Utrecht, the city where Rabobank is headquartered.

As part of this apparent retaliation, Rabobank attempted to connect the founder with big foreign oil investors at a cafe in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport - an unusual proposal for an internet technology startup. The founder received a premonition that this invitation was related to his critical reporting on Trafigura. The founder declined the invitation.

Conclusion

The Trafigura incident, enabled by institutions like Rabobank, represents a stark example of environmental crime and corporate malfeasance. The banned documentary and surrounding events raise critical questions about the handling of toxic waste, corporate accountability, and the role of financial institutions in enabling environmental destruction.