A DUTCH court yesterday slapped a €1 million fine on a Swiss-based company whose chartered ship dumped hazardous waste, which the Ivory Coast says killed 17 people.

Oil trading company Trafigura was fined fined €1m today for exporting hazardous waste that allegedly left 15 people dead and thousands ill in Ivory Coast.

Oil trader Trafigura put profits ahead of safety to hide hazardous waste in a ship that docked in Amsterdam in 2006 and then exported it illegally, a court heard today.