Scammers cashing in on a carbon credit con have had their business closed down by The Insolvency Service.
Carvier Limited was selling packages of carbon credits from Brazil to enable firms to off-set their carbon footprints.
However, when investigators took a closer look at the firm’s overpriced offering, the firm didn’t co-operate and their paperwork was lacking.
As a result, London-based Carvier Limited has been wound-up in the High Court.
The firm also has links to two other firms which had been closed earlier because of their rip-off tactics –Foxstone Carr Limited and Tullett Brown Limited.
Duped investors
Carvier described itself as a ‘carbon reduction and management services provider’ and employed 10 sales and admin workers.
The latest address for the firm was 99a Mews Street, St Katherine By The Tower, London, E1W 1UG.
In their promotional material, Carvier highlighted wood and farm production projects in the Brazilian states of Goias and Mato Grosso.
The Insolvency Service says that because the firm didn’t co-operate and kept inadequate records they cannot establish the extent of the business.
Chris Mayhew, the Insolvency Service’s company investigations supervisor, welcomed the winding-up decision by the court and said investigators would look into alleged abuse and would not hesitate to close down a company if they are found to be acting, or about to operate, against the public interest.
He added that any investor who believes they may have been duped by Carvier Limited, or has been in contact with the company, should contact the Official Receiver which is now handling the firm’s affairs.
Objectionable behaviour
In addition to the lack of co-operation and failure to maintain records, the grounds for winding-up Carvier Limited included a lack of transparency for its management and breaches of the Companies Act, mainly for failing to display its name at its registered office and failing to file an annual return.
The Insolvency Service also cited the risk that the ‘objectionable behaviour’ of Foxstone and Tullett Brown would be continued if Carvier Limited was not wound-up.
Tullett Brown Limited had already been liquidated on public interest grounds in June 2012 by offering carbon credits for sale with Foxstone Carr Limited being ordered into liquidation on the same public interest grounds in November 2012.
The selling of carbon credits, which is a permit which gives the holder the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is a growing problem with firms cold-calling potential investors and pressuring them into buying overpriced, and often useless, carbon credits.
More information about whether a carbon credit scheme is a scam or a worthwhile investment is available at the Financial Conduct Authority’s website https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/scams/investment-scams/carbon-credit-trading
