More than 100 new arrests for carbon trading fraud, organized crime long known involved, billions gone, cops can't keep up

"It’s been known since June of last year (2009) that criminal organizations have been using

• CO2-emissions trading

for defrauding governments of value added tax."...

• 12/28/10, "Europol Arrests More Than 100 In Carbon Trading Fraud," P. Gosselin, NoTricksZone
  

"Here’s more proof that trading of CO2 emission certificates is fraught with fraud and attracts seedy criminal organizations – all costing the consumers and taxpayers billions.

• Worse yet, it has spread out of control and appears that the authorities can’t keep up.

The Austrian online Kleine Zeitung here reports that Europol have raided an elaborate CO2 emissions scam in Italy and have arrested more than 100 persons.

The Kleine Zeitung writes: “The damage runs in the billions of euros”.

According to Europol, the Italian tax authorities, directed by the Milan Prosecutor’s Office, have raided 150 companies in Italy. The fraud involves evasion of value added tax with CO2 emission certificates. More than 100 have been arrested and

• are suspected of being involved in organised crime.

The Kleiner Zeitung reports that the Italian Electric Utilities trading markets had earlier halted entire trading with emissions certificates “because a high number of abnormal transactions”. The loss in tax revenue just from VAT (MTIC (Missing Trader IntraCommunity Fraud) alone is estimated to be 500 million euros, the online Kleine Zeitung writes.

The fraud is widespread

According to reports, it’s been known since June of last year that criminal organizations have been using CO2-emissions trading for defrauding governments of value added tax.

This is not the first time that police raids of this scale have taken place. It’s the latest in a series of raids that have been carried out all over Europe this year, all involving the trading of CO2 emission certificates. It seems the authorities just can’t keep up with the multitudes of swindlers out there.

Norway, Switzerland and the EU countries Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovak Republic and Portugal are all

• among the countries trying to identify the network of criminals behind this massive fraud –
  

a fraud with links to criminal networks operating outside the EU and in other continents, like the Middle East.

2500 investigators – trying to identify. That’s means they haven’t yet. That’s a lot of fraud. The fraud has spread

• from science to finance. Expect a meltdown – sooner than later.

UPDATE 2: Recall this Danish fraud: http://climaterealists.com/index.php?id=6790

• 12/10/09, From the NY Times Green blog, $7.4 billion lost from carbon trading fraud in Europe.
  

.

via Tom Nelson