Trafigura and shipowner sucked into $18bn Pertamina corruption probe
- Kris Vansanten
- Aug 1
- 2 min read
From Jakarta to Geneva, Trafigura’s Troubles Multiply. Fresh off a Swiss court conviction tied to operations in Angola, commodity giant Trafigura now finds itself caught in a sweeping corruption scandal in Southeast Asia. As the list of international graft cases linked to the firm continues to grow, it can no longer be concidered a series of isolated incidents. It looks like corruption by design, embedded from the boardroom down.
Trafigura Entangled in Indonesian Multi-Billion Dollar Scandal
The latest developments in Indonesia's multi-billion-dollar Pertamina corruption scandal cast yet another long shadow over global commodity trader Trafigura. With nine new suspects named—among them a Trafigura employee—it appears the scandal, which allegedly resulted in $17.6 billion in state losses, is just the latest in a pattern of corporate misconduct that seems embedded in the firm’s DNA.
The Scapegoat Strategy: Blame the Employee, Shield the System
The Indonesian Attorney General’s Office claims that from 2018 to 2023, Pertamina officials, brokers, and corporate actors—including Trafigura personnel—engaged in illicit crude oil imports, inflated lease agreements, and falsified justifications to reject compliant domestic oil. While Trafigura says its employee is cooperating with authorities, the company has been quick to distance itself by emphasizing individual accountability, not systemic failure.
Not Just One Bad Actor: When Leadership Breeds Corruption
The tactic is all too familiar. When corruption surfaces, corporations often spotlight a lone employee, as though the rot begins and ends with a single person. But such narratives crumble when viewed alongside Trafigura's history. Just this year, Michael Wainwright, the company's former Chief Operating Officer—who held the role during the time the Indonesian misconduct allegedly occurred—was convicted by a Swiss court for bribery and corruption related to Trafigura’s activities in Angola. And this follows settlements in Brazil and the U.S. over similar charges.
A Pattern Too Familiar: Trafigura’s Culture of Corruption
It becomes increasingly difficult to dismiss these scandals as isolated events. Rather, the consistency and global scale of Trafigura's legal troubles suggest a corporate culture where corruption isn’t an anomaly, but a mode of operation. Until accountability reaches the executive level and systemic reforms are introduced, Trafigura’s promises of cooperation and compliance will ring hollow—and the cycle of scandal is bound to continue.
