Biofuel scheme boss jailed for eight years in Cambodia

Biofuel scheme boss jailed for eight years in Cambodia

Biofuel scheme boss jailed for eight years in Cambodia
The chairman of a biofuel investment scheme which collapsed in February 2012
has been sentenced by a Cambodian court to eight years in prison.

Gregg Fryett, who was previously chairman of Sustainable AgroEnergy, was
found guilty of fraud after a trial that lasted three years, reports the
Torquay Herald Express.

He was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 10 million riel,
equivalent to around $2,500 or £2,000, on charges including fraud by
aggravating circumstances, bribery and faking public documents.

Fryett has denied any wrongdoing and said he will appeal the conviction.

'I have spent 30 months in trial which has patently proven that the
prosecutor has neither evidence or victim of a crime or authority to
prosecute,' he said.

Fryett was chairman of Sustainable AgroEnergy, a company which invested in
jatropha oil plantations in Cambodia.

The scheme fell apart when the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) obtained a
freezing order against the company in February 2012.

At the time Fryett unsuccessfully tried to appeal the decision to freeze the
assets. He claimed the original order was obtained 'through dubious
disclosure and incomplete process'.

According to the SFO around £23 million was invested into the plantations
through Sipps.

In December 2014 three men associated with the company were found guilty of
fraud at Southwark Crown Court in the UK. These convictions included former
financial adviser Stuart Stone.

Gary West, Sustainable AgroEnergy's former director and chief commercial
officer, and the company's former chief executive James Whale were also
convicted.

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Link to Original Article:
http://citywire.co.uk/new-model-adviser/news/biofuel-scheme-boss-jailed-for-
eight-years-in-cambodia/a981449

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com