Rich hands over reins at commodities company

MARC RICH, the fugitive commodities trader based in Switzerland, has resigned as chairman of his commodities firm, Marc Rich & Co AG.

Mr Rich, 59, passed day-to-day control of the privately held company this week to the chief executive, Willy Strothotte, a 14-year veteran of the firm who was previously an executive in the aluminium industry.

A spokesman said the move was expected within the company as part of a restructuring, now completed. Mr Rich remains a board director.

The group, with 1,300 employees and 40 offices worldwide, has an annual turnover of around dollars 30bn and net worth of nearly dollars 1bn. Aggressive trading has made it a powerful force in commodities markets in its 20-year existence.

A Belgian-born American, Mr Rich is wanted in the US on tax charges linked to oil trading lodged a decade ago, and the risk of apprehension by the US authorities means he does not visit the UK either. The firm's headquarters is in Zug, Switzerland.

The restructuring gives 72.5 per cent of the company's capital to management and key employees. The balance of 27.5 per cent, owned by a holding company controlled by Mr Rich, will be reduced to 15 per cent over five years. But he can be bought out completely under the arrangements.

The tycoon caused a stir in Britain in March when his London operation, Marc Rich and Co, became the first foreign firm to receive a licence to supply electricity to UK industry. Offer, the electricity regulator, said Mr Rich's business plans and accounts gave it no reason to withhold the licence.