Carbon credit crooks target expat investors

Published:  9 Dec at 6 PM
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Tagged: Australia, UK, Money, England
A new breed of fraudster is lurking in the already murky waters of expat financial advice, with genuine carbon credit investment firms’ names being used to trap the unwary.

Britain’s watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, is concerned enough about the growth of such scams to publish an official warning to investors to stay clear of carbon credit investments. Unauthorised financial advisors are including the names of two reputable companies, Gemmax Solutions and Carbon Neutral Investments, in their presentations to trick clients into believing the investments are genuine.

The inference is that the investment will be with an authorised provider and that the money invested will be protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. In fact, the investments are next to worthless as the carbon credit market is close to small-trade investors, making them impossible to sell.

Dealing with an unauthorised FA disallows compensation claims in the UK when the inevitable occurs, and expats investors are in a worse position as there is almost no redress in law in overseas locations. If UK nationals living overseas have been mis-sold an investment by a UK-resident FA, the FCA’s website offers a reporting service as well as a list of all regulated UK firms.
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