The German TV channels ZDF and DW revealed a scam worth about one billion euros that got through the surveillance of the German authorities.
30.12. 20:41•Updated 30.12. 21:04
German authorities approved dozens of climate projects made in China, which were probably revealed as part of a scam worth around one billion euros.
The revelation was made by the TV channels ZDF and DW.
By investing in these projects, the companies bought so-called carbon credits, with which the companies offset their carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon credits are produced by various projects that reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Many climate projects approved by the German authorities turned out to be frauds in the investigation. The German Ministry of the Environment now suspects 45 of them.
DW interviewed on the subject Stefan Schreiberwho is a member of the board of the German biofuel producer Verbio. Verbio also sells carbon certificates. Schreiber invested in a Chinese company and had no idea that he had been scammed.
– I got a very expert impression of the company, Schreiber describes to DW.
Verbio resells credits on the German coal market. Now Schreiber is sure that his company is part of a billion-euro scam.
TV channels went through hundreds of inspection reports, compared satellite images and interviewed industry insiders. Germany had approved bogus projects since 2020, even though they did not meet the legal requirements of the industry.
The projects should have been new, but many of the projects presented as new turned out to be already existing.
According to DW, Shell, Exxon, Total and BP have also invested in carbon credits from the same system. The managers of these companies did not comment on the revelation to TV channels.
Connections to one company with different projects
The research revealed that almost all the projects seemed to have connections to a company called Beijing Karbon. The company did not respond to DW’s contact request.
According to DW, Beijing Karbon is a consulting company specializing in carbon reduction and certification.
Schreiber, a member of Verbio’s board, said that he suspects that Beijing Karbon also has partners outside of China.
Many in the industry believe that respected project inspection companies, Müller-BBM Cert, TÜV Rheinland and Verico SCE, may be Beijing Karbon’s collaborators in the scam.
A spokeswoman for Germany’s environment ministry said the prosecutor’s office was investigating all three companies for commercial fraud. The companies have not admitted wrongdoing.