The shape of things to come

Many people have said that the ETS will create a bureaucracy ripe for criminals, scammers and fraudsters, and if this story from the UK is anything to go by, they are dead right:

The British tax office has arrested seven people in London in a suspected $76 million value-added tax fraud in the European market in carbon allowances.

Officers from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC) searched 27 properties around London and arrested six men and one woman in early morning raids.

"Those arrested are believed to be part of an organised crime group operating a network of companies trading large volumes of high-value carbon credits," HMRC said in a statement.

"It is thought that the proceeds of this crime have then been used to finance lavish lifestyles and the purchase of prestige vehicles."

The HMRC said further arrests were likely but it could not give the names of those arrested or the companies involved, nor could it estimate the total scale of the suspected fraud or say if it was isolated to Britain.

My advice is get used to it - the carbon trading arena will be a haven for criminal gangs in the future.

Read it here.