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Toxic waste payout blocked

Written by Sevencam
Thursday, 05 November 2009 00:00

Thousands of victims of a toxic sludge dumping scandal could fail to receive their share of a 45 million dollar compensation package due to corruption in Ivory Coast, a British lawyer claims.

Tens of thousands of people fell ill after a contractor for Dutch oil trader Trafigura dumped 500 tonnes of toxic waste in landfills around the capital Abidjan in 2006.

A group of more than 30,000 people, represented by lawyer Martyn Day, accepted a 45 million US dollar out of court settlement from Trafigura in September this year.

The company deposited the sum in a bank in Abidjan, but Mr Day, who won the settlement, claims a local state prosecutor has frozen the account. A local community representative backed by a highly influential Ivorian figure has claimed the cash, Mr Day said.

The local court in Abidjan is due to rule on the case this week.

This news story was originally featured on the Panos London website.