Trafigura accused of throttling Nyrstar with lopsided zinc deals

Commodities trader Trafigura Group used its influence at Nyrstar, one of the world’s biggest zinc refiners, to undermine the company and unfairly enrich itself, a group of Nyrstar shareholders has alleged.

Through its sway on the board and management committee, Trafigura was able to negotiate lopsided contracts that effectively drained cash from Nyrstar since 2016, contributing to the company’s collapse, the shareholders said in a recent lawsuit in Belgium.