When scam artist Gregory Zaoui got out of prison in 2004, he had a plan to go straight – by selling solar panels. But when he learned about a new carbon trading system that was supposed to reduce CO2 emissions, he saw an obvious loophole. And soon, he found himself at the center of a fraud scheme so extensive that it was hard to tell if the carbon market was doing anything to fight climate change at all. Featured in this episode: Jessica Camille Aguirre Sources: Jessica Camille Aguirre’s reporting in The Atavaist Magazine: https://magazine.atavist.com/2024/watch-it-burn-france-europe-carbon-fraud-scam-vat-betrayal  Alec Henry’s podcast “Le Déclic” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkYkJiFl8Pg See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Lawless Planet

Wondery

Europe Had a Plan to Reduce Carbon Emissions. Scammers Fleeced It for Billions

DEC 15, 202539 MIN
Lawless Planet

Europe Had a Plan to Reduce Carbon Emissions. Scammers Fleeced It for Billions

DEC 15, 202539 MIN

Description

When scam artist Gregory Zaoui got out of prison in 2004, he had a plan to go straight – by selling solar panels. But when he learned about a new carbon trading system that was supposed to reduce CO2 emissions, he saw an obvious loophole. And soon, he found himself at the center of a fraud scheme so extensive that it was hard to tell if the carbon market was doing anything to fight climate change at all.Featured in this episode:Jessica Camille AguirreSources:Jessica Camille Aguirre’s reporting in The Atavaist Magazine: https://magazine.atavist.com/2024/watch-it-burn-france-europe-carbon-fraud-scam-vat-betrayal Alec Henry’s podcast “Le Déclic” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkYkJiFl8PgSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.