Oil trader Trafigura misled the public when it published advertisments in a number of Dutch newspapers claiming the company had done its best to be economically and socially responsible in western Africa, the advertising standards authority said on Thursday.

The complaint was brought by environmental organisation Greenpeace.
The authority said the passage in the advert in which Trafigura said it ‘always strives for positive economic and social involvement in the West African region’ was ‘misleading and unfair’.
The claim relates to the Probo Koala scandal, in which tonnes of toxic waste owned by Trafigura was dumped in Ivory coast by an unqualified local contractor.
Not dangerous
But Greenpeace’s complaint that the advert also stated an independent British judge had agreed the waste dumped in Ivory coast was not dangerous was rejected.
The commission said the advert made it clear enough to the average consumer that the statement was part of a settlement between the company and 30,000 Ivory Coast people who claim to be victims of the dumping.
According to the Volkskrant, Trafigura tried to have the complaint rejected by saying it was not an advert but a form of freedom of expression. The commission said the publication was a ‘public praising of goods and services’ and as such fell under its control.