Police suspect two of carbon credit fraud worth CZK 378m

Prague, Oct 23 (CTK) - The Czech anti-corruption police have accused two men of 378 million crowns worth of tax evasion linked to carbon credits trade, for which they would face up to ten years in prison, if convicted, the police spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej writes on their website.

The two say they bought carbon credits on behalf of a company from two Czech firms in 2010 and subsequently sold them to another company.

However, they in fact did not buy them in the Czech Republic but from a foreign company for a price not including VAT. They eventually paid the tax on the sum corresponding to the difference between the price for the fictitious purchase in the Czech Republic and the subsequent selling price, i.e. not for the really completed deal.

"They presented a fictitious transaction with the purpose to reduce the tax duty," Ibehej writes.

Moreover, the Czech firms from which the suspects bought the carbon credits, were not listed in the registry of carbon credit traders, the police found out.

Within the prosecution the police have blocked the suspects' real estate worth 11 million crowns plus bank accounts with about 2.5 million crowns, Ibehej said.