Switzerland’s top criminal court convicted a multinational company for the first time, ruling against commodities trader Trafigura in a case of bribery linked to lucrative oil industry contracts in Angola.

A Swiss court convicted Trafigura and three people linked to the commodities trading firm of corruption in Angola, in what campaigners hailed Friday as a "historic" first in Switzerland. Switzerland is home to some 900 commodities trading firms,

Switzerland's highest criminal court found Trafigura and former executive Mike Wainwright guilty of corruption related to payments for Angolan oil contracts. The court imposed over $148 million in fines on the company and sentenced Wainwright to 32 months,

In a landmark case, the court handed the company's British former chief operating officer Mike Wainwright, who has also competed as a racing driver, a 32-month jail sentence and fined the company $148m (£119m). This is the first time an entire company has been charged by Switzerland's highest court, and bribery convictions of senior staff are rare.

A historic verdict in Switzerland has seen trading giant Trafigura and a former executive convicted of corruption, marking the first such case at the country's top criminal court. The charges involve bribery of an Angolan official for oil contracts,

BELLINZONA, Switzerland (Reuters) - Switzerland's top criminal court on Friday found Trafigura and a former executive guilty of corruption in a historic case involving payments made to an Angolan official in exchange for oil contracts.

A Swiss court has convicted trading giant Trafigura and its former operating chief Mike Wainwright on bribery charges linked to shipping deals in Angola. Wainwright, the former chief operating officer, was sentenced to 32 months in jail by a court in Bellinzona, Switzerland, with 20 months suspended.