Carbon trading has become an easy target for organized crime

He travels the world, collaborates with local police forces, and confronts criminal networks with a global ecological impact. It’s not unreasonable to consider Sasa Braun, 55, the James Bond of the environment. This is how he was introduced on June 3 during the Austrian World Summit, the annual climate conference held in Vienna by actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, under the slogan “Unite in Action — Terminate Pollution.”

After 30 years as a researcher with the German police and a career focused on transnational organized crime, Braun has spent the last eight years as a senior criminal intelligence officer at Interpol, specializing in environmental crimes. This agency classifies these crimes into five main categories: forestry crime, fisheries crime, illegal mining crime, pollution crime, and wildlife crime.

“And I can guarantee you, it’s full of organized crime, it’s full of terrorism even. We grill our sausages on charcoal that is produced by the [terrorist groups] Al-Shabaab or Boko Haram and we don’t know about it,” the expert warned during his talk.

Specializing in pollution and illegal mining, he has coordinated international operations against toxic waste trafficking and the illicit extraction and trade of critical minerals. For example, during an operation in Nigeria against illegal mining and mercury trafficking, he witnessed the devastating impact firsthand: entire communities exposed to poisoned environments and forced laborers who need to anesthetize themselves with tramadol, as he recounted just before his interview with EL PAÍS. “We’re talking about modern slavery in the field. People working for one, two dollars per day, dying, being contaminated with mercury or cyanide, and then pumped with heavy painkillers. It’s a tragedy.”

Question. How does criminal activity relate to the environment?

Answer. Environmental crime is the third-biggest criminal sector in the world, right after counterfeit products and drugs. Moreover, it is growing at a rate of 7% per year, and we don’t even know how deep the rabbit hole goes, as many crimes aren’t even quantified. For example, illegal sand mining — rarely mentioned — generates illicit profits of around $300 billion annually, according to estimates from Brazil’s federal police. We have organized crime groups, corporate crime, we have private brokers, so many criminal stakeholders that we cannot believe.

Q. Why did you become interested in environmental crime?

A. Because I worked for many years on organized crime, which is like an octopus that keeps growing and has expanded into these types of crimes. Now, its commodities are natural resources, and it’s devastating the planet. I was fascinated to see how it has shifted from trafficking drugs or people to engaging in illicit mining or the illegal extraction of gold or sand. In particular, wildlife and forestry crimes have grown quietly and unnoticed, bringing enormous profits and very little risk, as law enforcement responses are still very limited. It’s a crime area that needs to be urgently and decisively developed.

Q. Why is the response so limited?

A. Many countries still don’t understand the value of protecting the environment and don’t prioritize it — nor the fight against environmental crime. And in those that do try, law enforcement is often left behind: there’s a lack of funding, and police lack the training and expertise to investigate these crimes. This lack of interest can be explained by three factors: lack of awareness, lack of financial resources, and corruption. In many cases, we’ve seen government officials involved with organized crime. If they’re profiting from these crimes, it’s clear they’re not going to fight them.

Q. How would you describe your job?

A. It is very diverse because there are so many new things you need to learn. Among pollution-related crimes, you could write a book about each phenomenon you come across. It’s not only waste trafficking — like dumping in landfills — it’s maritime pollution, it’s ship breaking, it’s fuel related crime, it’s illegal trafficking of tires, it’s F-gas straight [greenhouse gas contributing to climate change], it’s carbon certificates fraud…

Q. How does Interpol support national authorities?

A. We organize global operations, such as the “30 days of action” operation [the largest global enforcement action against waste crime and trafficking, with police, customs, border and environmental agencies from 43 countries participating]. We try to cover all fronts, but the responsibility to act lies with the states. Interpol functions as a support and coordination center. We offer capacity building, operational support, data extraction, operational mentoring on the ground, and we promote intelligence sharing. We also foster cooperation platforms between agencies, bringing together police, customs, environmental authorities, governments, the private sector, and investigative NGOs.

Q. How do you address potential reluctance of national authorities to share intelligence?

A. Interpol has a secure system for information exchange called I-24/7, which all member countries have access to. However, there are political differences and varying levels of trust between countries. Our role is to act as a bridge — we facilitate the exchange of operational data between regions that would not normally cooperate, such as Europe and Southeast Asia, or between African and Latin American countries. This even happens between European nations. We organize case coordination meetings so investigators from different continents can work together and understand the entire criminal chain: from the country of origin, to the transit country, to the destination country. Our goal is to connect those dots and improve face-to-face exchanges.

Q. You’ve mentioned fraud in carbon markets. What does that involve?

A. Carbon trading began as a good idea: reducing emissions through the buying and selling of pollution permits or investments in climate projects, such as reforestation. But in practice, it has become an easy target for organized crime, as shown in the documentary The Carbon Crooks. Taking advantage of weak regulation, fake projects, tax evasion, and worthless certificates are proliferating. Some companies buy permits without actually reducing their emissions. It’s still an immature system, where financial profit often outweighs real climate impact. Interpol works with national and international agencies to improve intelligence sharing and strengthen oversight and traceability within the system.

Q. How widespread are illegal sand mining and trafficking?

A. Illegal sand mining is a massive environmental disaster. Around 80% of the sand traded globally has an unknown origin. In countries that don’t pay attention to this issue, sand is stolen from rivers and coastlines — not from the desert, because desert sand can’t be used to make concrete — and used in large-scale construction projects, especially in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. I’ve seen trucks in Gambia transporting tons of sand, like something out of a science fiction film — destroying entire areas, drying up riverbeds, changing their course, and causing huge losses of biodiversity. When digging goes deep, water flow accelerates, fish are swept away, and coastal homes collapse. The profits are huge for those supplying construction projects, but the damage falls on poor communities in Central America, West Africa, or along the Mekong. Skyscrapers rise in one part of the world while homes of the most vulnerable collapse in another — and no one pays attention. There’s no legal response either, because in many countries this isn’t even considered a crime: there’s no legislation, no investigations. If you traffic cocaine, it’s clear-cut. But if you traffic sand, nobody cares — even though the impact is devastating for the poorest of the poor.

Q. Are there other invisible environmental crimes?

A. Those related to pollution. Wealthy countries export their waste to poorer nations, where corruption enables this practice. The profits end up in the hands of political elites instead of being used for the common good or sustainability. It’s an unfair situation that needs to change.

Q. What is the biggest challenge we face?

A. We need a common approach that goes beyond law enforcement. Law enforcement must work hand in hand with the private sector and government institutions. Industry needs to think beyond profit. Together with governments, it must fund sustainable technologies, because many existing solutions aren’t promoted simply because they’re not profitable — like recycling plastic, which is still much more expensive than producing new plastic. Cooperation should even transcend political borders. It can’t be that one country reduces emissions while others attract companies with looser regulations, causing offshoring and job losses. That doesn’t work — there’s only one planet, or there’s no planet at all.

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