Company tried to export waste from Finland without permits using false information

Finnish Customs has completed an investigation of environmental offences where a company is suspected of having exported almost 15 million kilos of waste deriving from electrical and electronic equipment to Asia without the required permits, and of providing false information on the waste contained in the shipping containers to the authorities. The company gained more than 1 750 000 euros in criminal proceeds.

In late 2020, Finnish Customs received a request for investigation from the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) involving the contents of six shipping containers declared for export to Malaysia. The preliminary investigation gave cause to suspect that the criminal activities had been more extensive than that. The company is suspected of having provided Customs with false information on the contents of shipping containers they exported also on previous occasions.

Many irregularities in the company’s exports in 2020

The company itself had deemed that the waste fulfils the purity requirements for so-called green-listed waste shipments and had not obtained export permits for the consignments.

“The company had used an incorrect commodity code in the export declarations and had also provided additional export codes in the customs declaration indicating that the consignment was a shipment of green-listed waste. However, the preliminary investigation showed that the purity of the waste did not meet the requirements set for green-listed waste,” says Johanna Mickelsson from the Economic Crime Investigation Unit of Customs.

The company had provided intermediaries based in Hong Kong as the consignees in the export declarations, although the destination country was declared as Malaysia. According to the Finnish Waste Act, the exporter must always be informed of the final destination of the waste.

“Exports of so-called unclassified waste always require a waste shipment permit. The export of such waste may also be prohibited, so the waste may have ended up being inappropriately processed in the receiving country. For example, plastic from electrical and electronic equipment may have contained restricted or prohibited chemical compounds,” says Mickelsson.

The legislation changed in 2021 and so did the company’s modus operandi

The requirements for waste exports were tightened in 2021. You are no longer allowed to export any other waste than green-listed waste to non-OECD countries.

“The company had continued exporting waste to Malaysia, but now the export consignments were declared to contain scrap iron, and the company no longer used the commodity codes referring to plastic. However, the company’s records showed that the export consignments still contained plastic waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) as well as aluminium, and that the company had not obtained an export permit for this waste. By providing false information on the contents of the shipping containers to the authorities, the company tried to avoid the controls that apply to such waste shipments,” Johanna Mickelsson explains.

As part of this criminal investigation, Customs has also looked into the company’s actions as regards a waste consignment returned to Finland from Poland in 2022.

The waste sector is strictly regulated

The company is suspected of having acted in violation of the environmental permit, and it has provided the supervising authority with different and partly contradictory details on the waste received and handled at the facility. The company also lacked the records required under the environmental permit.

The offences investigated in the case are aggravated impairment of the environment, smuggling and aggravated customs clearance offence. The case has been transferred to the Prosecution District of Western Finland for consideration of charges.

The movement of waste from one country to another is governed by strict international regulations. Combatting cross-border environmental crime falls under the remit of Finnish Customs. An average of ten environmental offences are registered yearly by Customs. Last year, Customs investigated a total of three environmental offences involving violation of the Waste Act.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

• Transfrontier movements of waste are regulated on a global level, and their supervision is based on international conventions and regulations.
• Movements of waste from one country to another require either a permit from all the countries involved in the movement or the application of a lighter shipment procedure for so-called green-listed waste, if the waste is exported for use as raw material.
• In some cases, the movement of waste may also be entirely prohibited.
• Usually, green-listed waste must have a purity of over 90% by weight. Stricter requirements can also be applied to certain types of waste.
• Waste cannot be classified as green-listed if it is contaminated by other substances that are hazardous and prevent the recovery of waste in an environmentally safe way.
• In Finland, the Finnish Environment Institute carries out the official duties related to international shipments of waste.
• Finnish Customs carries out controls and preliminary investigations of waste shipments in cooperation with the Environment Institute, the Police and other authorities.