MOVES-Several traders leave commodity firm Noble Group -sources

By Liz Hampton and Catherine Ngai

HOUSTON/NEW YORK, May 8 (Reuters) - Several traders have left Noble Group Ltd in recent weeks, according to sources familiar with the moves.

Michael Paradise, a crude oil trader, left the company in early May, according to three sources. It was not immediately clear where Paradise (Other OTC: PARF - news) went. He joined Noble in 2014 from Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C - news) , where he was director of oil trading.

Paradise's departure comes shortly after Matthew Tunney, a senior trader, left the firm for rival merchant Glencore Plc (Frankfurt: 8GC.F - news) , two sources said.

Noble and Glencore did not respond to requests for comment.

Chris Hill, a gasoline trader, and Zak Banks, an oil trader, have also left the company, two sources familiar with the matter said. It was not clear where either landed.

Noble has also been consolidating its offices, moving some staff from its regional hub in Stamford, Connecticut, to Houston. Among those making this move were Co-Chief Executive Officer Jeff Frase, sources added.

The moves come as publicly traded Noble has considered selling an equity stake to Sinochem. The firm's shares plunged in February following a report in which Iceberg Research reiterated its concerns about Noble's accounting practices.

Noble's stock has fallen to around 1.34 Singapore dollars (96 U.S. cents) from 2.8 SGD in February, and a high of more than 17 SGD in early 2011. ($1 USD = 1.40 SGD) (Additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore; Editing by Matthew Lewis)