Andrew Nathaniel Skeene and Junie Conrad Omari Bowers have been found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and misconduct in the course of winding up a company at Southwark Crown Court, International Adviser reports.
The duo were two company directors of Global Forestry Investments, which was behind fraudulent green investment schemes in Brazil.
Global Forestry Investments was presented as an ethical investment scheme that would help protect the Amazon rainforest and support local communities, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said.
According to a previous article by ESG Clarity‘s sister title International Adviser, the minimum investment in the Brazilian teak plantation was £5,000 ($6,260, €5,579). It bought the investor one plot containing around 100 trees.
The scheme was promoted as being Sipp-compatible, with a minimum 10% return on investment per annum.
But, the SFO said “in reality, the duo were enriching themselves with the investors’ savings and pensions”. They took £37m of investments from around 2,000 victims.
On 31 May 2022, a jury returned guilty verdicts for both Skeene and Bowers for three counts of conspiracy to defraud and one count of misconduct in the course of winding up a company.
‘Intricate web’
Lisa Osofsky, director of the SFO, said: “Our international investigation exposed an intricate web of money transfers, forged documents and invented identities used to scam pensioners and savers out of their money under the false pretence of environmental protection.
“Today’s guilty verdicts on all charges marks a significant step towards achieving justice for over 2,000 victims.
“We won’t stop fighting fraud and are proud to have brought this matter to justice.”
This article first appeared on ESG Clarity’s sister title International Adviser.
