Fraudulent UK packaging waste exports leads to dumping – Nicola Finnerty quoted in Materials Recycling World

Nicola Finnerty, Partner in our Criminal Litigation team has been quoted in Materials Recycling World on abuses of the packaging recovery note (PRN) system which has recently come under increased scrutiny after a BBC report on UK waste being illegally dumped in Turkey and a claim in an online petition that PRNs are “open to abuse and industry fraud”.

Nicola quoted:

PRN/PERN fraud could take a number of forms including mislabelling, double counting and not recycling the material concerned."

I think there is an inevitable link between the mislabelling and the dumping of UK waste in other countries. There is also an increased risk of bribery and corruption in the process.”

Waste crime is on the political agenda and is gaining momentum, which is why I think this will be more of a focus for the EA and possibly other prosecutors such as the Serious Fraud Office and National Crime Agency." 

I think it is only a matter of time before there is a high-profile prosecution.”

This article was first published by Materials Recycling World on 3 July 2020. You can read the article in full by clicking here.

Further information

For further information on the issues raised in this new post, please contact a member of our Criminal Litigation team in confidence.

About the author

Nicola Finnerty is a partner in the criminal litigation team. She has experience of fraud, corruption  (including the Bribery Act) and cartel matters, financial compliance, money laundering, asset seizure and confiscation cases, through to sexual offence cases, drugs, murder and offensive weapon crimes.