Police recover £6 million netted by fraudster pair in carbon credits scam

Fraudster: Ian MacDonald was arrested at Heathrow Airport
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Two fraudsters arrested and led away in handcuffs after landing at Heathrow have been stripped of nearly £6 million in crime profits after an international operation to recover their illicit gains from a huge “cold-calling” scam.

Conmen Ian Macdonald and David Downes cheated thousands of people, most elderly, by selling carbon credits and shares — which they knew to be worthless — as high-value investments.

Macdonald used some of the proceeds to buy a villa in Spain. The pair also splashed out on Jaguar and Porsche cars, Rolex watches and other extravagant items, while storing millions in overseas bank accounts.

Their crimes were ended after City of London Police spotted their suspicious financial dealings and arrested the pair as they arrived in London on a flight from Vancouver in December 2010.

Caught: Bank CCTV footage of money launderer, Ian MacDonald, and multi-millionaire fraudster, David Downes, attempting to move US$1.4 million

A TV crew filmed them being taken away in handcuffs. The pair were later convicted at Kingston crown court, with Macdonald jailed for eight years for money-laundering and ordered to repay £1.9 million. Downes was sentenced to four years and seven months for conspiracy to defraud and told to hand back nearly £4million in illegal profits.

Announcing recovery of their money today, Nick Price, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said the cash had originally been sent to Panama then moved to Canada, from which it had now been retrieved and returned to victims.

Mr Price added: “These men preyed on the vulnerability of their victims, some of whom lost many thousands of pounds they had been saving for their retirement or for their children. As is so often the case, they thought they were too clever to be caught. They were wrong. I am very pleased that this money has now been given back to those victims who trusted these men and were so cruelly defrauded.

“It is a great credit to our team here. I also thank our law enforcement colleagues in Canada who were so alert in this case and allowed us to ensure that every last penny in these accounts has gone back to the rightful owners.” The scam involved cold-calling people and persuading them to buy carbon credits, which allow companies to emit more carbon, or shares.

Victims received share certificates and reports on the supposed values of their investments, although their money had instead been diverted.

One was a retired widower who had acquired his wife’s shares portfolio after her death and was tricked into paying £55,000 for worthless shares. A couple were contacted after investing in Costa Rica forestry land and were convinced to put money into carbon credits from a US firm and wind energy in China. They lost nearly £240,000.

At the time of the pair’s arrest, Det Con Claire Armson-Smith, of City of London police, described Macdonald and Downes as “two particularly greedy, selfish individuals who have destroyed people’s lives”.

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