Between January 2011 and December 2012, Jamil Rehman, 56, the sole director at Electronic Waste Specialists (EWS), submitted fictitious claims for the recycling of approximately 10,600 tonnes of electronic waste.
The company received payments totalling £1.48 million from producer compliance scheme Weeelight, which was formed by WEEE compliance firm AVC Weeeco Ltd in 2008.
Speaking after the case, the Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation said: “The Environment Agency has a specialist crime unit using intelligence to track and prosecute organised crime groups involved in illegal waste activity.
“This case sends out a clear message that we will not hesitate to take action against anyone operating illegally.”
The brothers were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 19 December, where Jamil Rehman received a custodial sentence of five years and four months and was disqualified from acting as a company director for 10 years.
His brother Saleem, 55, was convicted of theft from a company and received a 16-month custodial sentence suspended for two years.
Fraud
According to a statement from the Environment Agency, EWS’s services were contracted by Weeelight Ltd as an approved authorised treatment facility.
The statement added that EWS, which operated out of a warehouse in Birmingham, forged paperwork which detailed fictitious recycling, and it was this which aroused the suspicions of the Environment Agency’s National Investigations Team.
During proceedings, the Environment Agency undertook a surveillance operation after Jamil Rehman asserted he was not fit to plead.
Video evidence was obtained that showed him driving, along with further evidence showing that he had hired HGV vehicles in 2018 and 2019.
Rehman then applied to vacate his plea, but there was inadequate medical evidence to support the application.
Theft
According to the Environment Agency, the court also heard how Saleem Rehman stole approximately £36,000 from the company account, spending the money on foreign travel, school fees and car hire.
EWS went into voluntary liquidation in 2014 with debts of over £116,000.
WEEE
The UK’s producer responsibility system for WEEE generally sees large electronics producers delegating their recycling responsibilities by paying into a producer compliance scheme which then secures recycling evidence from the recyclers of electronic and electrical goods. The recycling companies provide the producer compliance scheme manager with paperwork as evidence of the materials they have recycled in exchange for a payment.
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