£1million Carbon Credit Scam Directors Banned

After an investigation by the Insolvency Service, the directors of Cleartrade Limited have been banned as company directors for a total of 43 years.

Mr Marcel McKeigue, Mr Graham Stephen Philip Hawrysh and Mr Carl Stuart Thornton sold voluntary emission reduction carbon credits (VERs) to members of the public that were completely worthless and had no investment potential. The VERs were sold by the company at highly inflated prices.

Cleartrade Limited was incorporated on 19 October 2011 and registered at a London address.

Teams within the Public Interest Unit got involved with Cleartrade Limited after an investigation by Company Investigations was passed onto the Insolvency Service.

They discovered that the company sold VERs to general members of the public between November 2011 and October 2012 as an investment and netted almost £1 million. However, the credits had no potential and the directors should’ve given this warning to investors showing an interest.

Disqualifications for all three men involved were given, with the penalty meaning that neither three parties will be able to manage, promote or become a director of a limited company until 2031.

Anthony Hannon, Official Receiver in the Public Interest Unit, says:

“This company’s claims about the profits to be made by buying its carbon credits were quite simply untrue and only the company and those working for it made money.

The lengthy periods of disqualification handed down in this case show that this kind of behaviour will not be tolerated by the Insolvency Service nor by the Court.”

The disqualification means that neither McKeigue, Hawrysh or Thornton are able to be the receiver of a company’s property, act as director or become involved with the formation, promotion or management of a limited liability partnership.

In this circumstance, the disqualification regime exists to protect members of the public who have the potential of being affected by the scam.