Kostas Bintas, the former co-head of metals at commodity trading giant Trafigura Group, is leaving the company after being demoted in a September reshuffle that capped a turbulent year for the division. Bintas, who built Trafigura’s copper-trading book into the world’s largest and is a longstanding and vocal bull on metals markets, is leaving the company by mutual consent, according to a person familiar with the matter. He will be on gardening leave with immediate effect, the person said.
His departure comes as Trafigura has been wrestling with the future of its metals unit, amid tensions within the top ranks over how much it should continue to invest in a business that has underperformed in the past two years. The metals unit has come under growing pressure as profits shrunk and the company was hit by a massive alleged nickel fraud. By contrast, the company’s energy trading divisions have been raking in record profits, shifting the balance of power between the top executives who own most of the compan