There are 236 posts filed in UK (this is page 1 of 16).
On 7 June 2019, James Moore was found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy for his role in the Bar Works investment scam. Moore was convicted after a one-week trial before the U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.
On 23 May 2019, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York put out a press release about the case against Renwick Haddow and others involved in the Bar Works scam. The press release includes the following statement:
Earlier this week, REDD-Monitor received an email from Brian Smith (name changed). Brian explained that about seven years ago he’d been scammed into buying carbon credits as an investment. Recently, Brian received an email from John Miles at a company called Verified Carbon Solutions. Miles said he was acting as a broker for Kentisbury Trust, a company looking to buy five million carbon credits.
Recently, British journalist George Monbiot launched a Natural Climate Solutions campaign. In the spirit of encouraging debate about the dangers of offsetting emissions from fossil fuels against the carbon temporarily stored in ecosystems, I wrote a post asking the question, “Is the new Natural Climate Solutions campaign a distraction from the need to leave fossil fuels in the ground?”
Gurpreet Singh Rai, or Gurps to his friends, describes himself as someone who was a “prominent figure of the Carbon Market”. He claims to have created history in 2011, when he became “the first person to successfully facilitate a commodity trade using a virtual currency”.
Earlier this week, an international group of more than 20 campaigners wrote a letter to The Guardian in support of natural climate solutions. “The world faces two existential crises, developing with terrifying speed: climate breakdown and ecological breakdown,” they write. “Neither is being addressed with the urgency needed to prevent our life-support systems from spiralling into collapse.”
The Financial Conduct Authority is asking anyone who was scammed by African Land or Capital Carbon Credits to complete a questionnaire and send documents to the FCA by 31 March 2019.
A REDD-Monitor reader, let’s call him Harry, got in touch last week with a question:
Does anyone have any info on Source Escrow? They claim to be trading at 63 St Mary’s Axe London under a Companies House registered Co at Godington Hall, Bicester. If I phone their direct line I get a “switch board” and I am not able to connect to the director Mr Kivell. They are offering a good price for VCCs BUT require a deposit of £2000 in an “Escrow” account to lubricate the transaction. Thanks.
On 18 January 2019, Sami Raja was sentenced to eight years in prison at Southwark Crown Court. He was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. Four other men were sentenced in September 2018. Between January 2012 and August 2013, they miss-sold carbon credits to retail investors through two companies, Harman Royce Ltd and Kendrick Zale Ltd.
On 9 January 2019, a ban on cold-calling about pensions came into effect in the UK. The ban is finally in place, more than two years after the government held a consultation to look at ways to tackle pensions scams, including a cold calling ban.
Since May 2018, if you buy ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s Scoop Shop in Wardour Street, London, you will also buy a small part of a carbon credit. For every scoop of ice cream, a penny goes to buying carbon credits from the Cordillera Azul National Park REDD project in Peru.
A company called “NLC Partners” is contacting people who were scammed into buying carbon credits as investments. NLC Partners claims to be able to sell the carbon credits. Needless to say, this has all the hallmarks of a recovery room scam.
A company called Radley Ventures Nominees is involved in selling shares in Med Cell Plc, a UK registered company linked to a stem cell research company in the Bahamas. REDD-Monitor has seen a copy of Radley Ventures Nominees’ “Confidential Private Placement Agreement”. Needless to say, this so-called “investment” raises plenty of red flags.
Michael Nascimento has been sentenced to 13 years in jail for his role in a series of boiler room companies.
Between July 2010 and April 2014, the scammers cold called members of the public promoting investment schemes in Madeira. They promised guaranteed returns of between 125% and 228%, and convinced more than 170 people to hand over a total of more than £2.8 million. Of course, no one who invested ever saw any returns.
The UK government has once again postponed its proposed ban on cold calling. The government is holding another consultation and in Autumn 2018 will present legislation for discussion in both Houses of Parliament.
