Swiss firm pleads guilty to Iraq Oil-for-Food Violations

Summary: In 2006, Trafigura, a Swiss commodities trading firm, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to violating federal law by making false claims related to Iraq’s U.N.-sanctioned Oil-for-Food program. The company admitted to selling over 500,000 barrels of Iraqi oil in 2001 under false pretenses, assuring U.S. buyers that the oil complied with the humanitarian program—when it did not. Trafigura profited from these sales, and the funds went into its corporate coffers. As part of the plea agreement, the firm agreed to forfeit $9.9 million in proceeds and pay an additional $9.9 million in criminal and civil penalties. The Oil-for-Food program, designed to alleviate humanitarian suffering during U.N. sanctions, became notorious for widespread corruption involving numerous companies and political actors. This case marked one of the early legal actions exposing misconduct by commodity firms operating in sanctions-affected regions​.

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