Carbon Credit Fraud
Carbon credit fraud is a certificate or permit which shows the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide.
How it works?
Investors can randomly be contacted via telephone or email and offered carbon credit certificates, voluntary emission reduction or certified emission reductions or an opportunity to directly invest in a ‘green’ scheme or project that generates carbon credits as a return on investment.
However investors cannot sell or trade their carbon credits and have lost their money.
Is carbon credit illegal?
Carbon credit fraud is not necessarily illegal and can be traded by multinational corporations. However Carbon Credits can only be traded successfully in large amounts, thus single investors who purchase small amount of credits from call centres, can find them worthless.
Is there a defence?
The law surrounding fraud is complex, however to be found guilty the following must be demonstrated:
- You consciously acted in a dishonest manner
- The items you dealt with are known to be false
- You consciously acted frequently where your gain resulted in someone’s loss
