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FM AMEMBASSY ABIDJAN
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INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

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