The Supreme Court of the Netherlands has ordered the court of justice in Amsterdam to consider whether or not businessman Claude Dauphin can be prosecuted in connection with the Probo Koala pollution scandal.

Mr Dauphin was one of the founders of Trafigura, a Swiss-based company for which the Probo Koala sailed in the summer of 2006. The Public Prosecutor’s office is accusing Mr Dauphin of managing the export of toxic waste to a country in Africa.

The ship departed from Amsterdam on 5 July 2006. The waste was unloaded in Ivory Coast on 19 August. Mr Dauphin protested the summons, saying that he only knew toxic waste was on board in the middle of August, by which time it had all been unloaded. The court in Amsterdam upheld his objection. This prompted the Public Prosecutor to request a reversal of the judgement by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court believes that the disposal of the waste was complete when it reached its final destination. It has now ordered the Amsterdam court to determine whether other objections by Mr Dauphin to the summons are valid. In general, said the Supreme Court, an objection to the issue of a summons can only be judged valid if it is highly unlikely that a criminal court will be able to issue a sentence later.

Criminal cases against other suspects in the Probo Koala affair have all gone ahead in recent months. The Amsterdam council, waste disposal company APS, the captain of the Probo Koala and Trafigura itself are all on trial in the Dutch capital. The Public Prosecutor has demanded a fine of two million euros for Trafigura, as well as other fines against the city council and APS. It has also demanded that chemist Naeem A. be sent to jail for one year, and that the captain of the Probo Koala and the former director of APS also be imprisoned. The court will deliver its verdict on 23 July.

© Radio Netherlands Worldwide