Biofuel firm linked to fraud probe
November 22, 2012
By The Globe and Mail
November 22, 2012, Ottawa, ON – The federal government will give $65-million in subsidies to a company that is set to become the biggest producer of biodiesel in the country, but which is linked to companies being investigated for a series of fraudulent shipments of American fuel to Europe, according to The Globe and Mail.
Canadian and European officials are investigating more than $100-million in fuel trades that went from the U.S. into Canada, before being shipped to Romania and other European countries. According to search warrants, Toronto-based Bioversel Trading Inc. and a related firm called Spectrum Chemicals Inc. circumvented anti-dumping duties on American biodiesel by pretending to be exporting Canadian biodiesel.
The Canada Border Services Agency raided in May the Toronto offices of Bioversel Trading, which also house the offices of Great Lakes Biodiesel Inc., government records show.
It is Great Lakes Biodiesel that is building Canada’s biggest biodiesel plant in Welland, Ont., and will receive up to $65.4-million in production incentives from a federal program called ecoENERGY for Biofuels – a $1.5-billion fund for ethanol and biodiesel producers.
None of the allegations in the search warrants have been proven in court and no charges have been laid. CBSA refused to comment on the “on-going investigation.”
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