By Chris Lang This week’s REDD notes. For a lot more links to news about forests, the climate crisis, natural climate solutions, the oil industry and so on, please follow @reddmonitor on Twitter.
Category: European Union
German prosecutors seek arrest of Peter Virdee (AKA “Batman”) for €125 million carbon credit VAT fraud
By Chris Lang Prosecutors in Frankfurt am Main announced this week that they are seeking the arrest of a 46-year-old British businessman charged with running a criminal gang that pocketed €125 million via a carbon credit VAT carousel fraud.
Members of the European Parliament urge California to exclude REDD from its cap and trade scheme: “Adopting the Tropical Forest Standard would water down climate ambition in California, the EU, and globally”
Last week, six Members of the European Parliament wrote to the California Air Resources Board urging the ARB to reject the proposed California Tropical Forest Standard. In November 2018, the ARB held a public meeting about the proposed Tropical Forest Standard. But the Board failed to reach a decision at that meeting.
Human rights and environmental organisations urge Finland to stop funding the Kenya Forest Service following human rights abuses of indigenous Sengwer people
Last week, the EU suspended funding to a conservation and climate project in Kenya. The suspension came after Kenya Forest Service guards shot and killed Robert Kirotich, an indigenous Sengwer man. Yesterday, human rights and environmental organisations wrote to the Finnish government calling for the suspension of Finland’s €9.5 million “Private Forestry and Forest Enterprise…
Mohsin Salya is no longer wanted by the German authorities. Peter Singh Virdee, alias “Batman”, faces extradition to Germany
A British man, Mohsin Usmangani Salya, has been sentenced to three years and three months in jail. Carbon Pulse reports that a court in Germany found Salya guilty of carbon credit VAT fraud.