UK watchdog says investors lose 24 million pounds in carbon credit scam

‘Nineteen companies selling carbon credits have been shut in the past 15 months for bilking investors out of 24 million pounds ($38.7 million), British regulators said on Wednesday, warning more firms were trying to sell carbon as a viable option for private investors.

The UK Insolvency Service said more than 1,500 investors had been ripped off by the firms, which target mainly the elderly with high pressure sales techniques and promises of hefty returns of more than 40 percent.

“Salesmen played on peoples’ keenness to ‘do their bit’ to save the environment while making an investment at the same time,” the Service said in a statement.’

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