It’s a dangerous combination. Governments and private investors around the world are spending billions to subsidize green energy projects, but many of the emerging technologies are unproven and controls often are lax.
That’s the contention of James Bohn, the author of the cover story, “A New Wave in Green Energy Fraud.” Bohn says the green energy sector is flush with money. He quotes estimates that the United States’ $787 billion stimulus contained $84.6 billion in new spending and $21.6 in tax credits for energy, transport, and climate science spending. So new entrepreneurs’ vocabularies contains such terms as “biochar,” “carbon negative,” “wind farm development subsidies,” and “CO2 emissions permits.” Bohn applies Cressey’s Fraud Triangle to examine characteristics of green investments that make them vulnerable to fraud, discusses some high-profile cases, and provides opportunities for CFEs.