According to the official reports, a Dutch court has fined the oil-trading company Trafigura 1 million euros ($1.3 million) over toxic sludge dumped in the Ivory Coast four years ago.

The Independent has said that the Swiss commodities firm had denied any liability in the dumping, which was carried out by a subcontractor. The Amsterdam judge Friday found the company violated European regulations on shipping environmentally hazardous waste to Third World nations.

It has also been reported that hundreds of tons of waste listed as "tank washings" were shipped from Amsterdam to Africa in 2006 aboard a tanker chartered by Trafigura. The company was accused of arranging the voyage after discovering that processing the material in Europe would cost much more than expected, the Independent further said.

The waste, which contained caustic soda, hydrogen sulfide and other compounds, was blamed for thousands of illnesses and at least 16 deaths in Ivory Coast, added the New York Times. (With Inputs from Agencies)