Noble's power, gas chief Griffiths said to leave amid turmoil

[HONG KONG] Noble Group Ltd's global head of gas and power trading Gareth Griffiths is leaving the commodities firm, the latest upheaval in a week that's seen the financially troubled company announce the departure of both its chief executive and chairman.

Mr Griffiths is departing the Hong Kong-based company after almost three years on the job, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the move hasn't been made public.

Noble CEO Yusuf Alireza resigned May 30, the latest casualty at a trading firm that's been hit hard by the global rout in commodity prices and accusations of faulty accounting.

On Thursday, founder and chairman Richard Elman said he was preparing to step down as well and the company, which has been downgraded to junk credit status by Moody's Investor Services, said it would sell some US$500 million in share rights to help bolster its finances.

Noble has lost more than 80 per cent of its market value over the past two years. On Friday, the stock slipped to its lowest point since 2003.

Mr Griffiths joined Noble in October 2013 after leading merchant trading at EON SE's trading arm Global Commodities.

BLOOMBERG