Environment Agency announces £477,000 conviction for waste packaging data fraud

Article summary

The Environment Agency has announced the conviction of Shaobo Qin, director of EDU Case Ltd, for making fraudulent entries on the National Packaging Waste Database (NPWD). On 16 May 2025, Birmingham Crown Court ordered payments totaling £476,995, which included a £255,057 confiscation order issued under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (PoCA 2002), a £200,000 company fine, and £21,995 in investigation costs. Qin pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation and received a two-year prison sentence for entering false data regarding 785.4 tonnes of non-existent plastic waste exports in 2022. This fraud accounted for approximately two-thirds of the company's trading volume. The case was prosecuted under the Fraud Act 2006 (FrA 2006), while the company operated under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 2007 (PRO(PW)R 2007), SI 2007/871.