The U.K. Serious Fraud Office on Feb. 25 announced it has charged biodiesel trader Gianni Rivera with fraud and money laundering in connection with an investigation launched in December 2018 concerning the sustainable fuel sector.

The SFO in December 2018 opened an investigation into certain aspects of biodiesel trading at Greenergy, a U.K.-based biodiesel producer and midstream oil company, and various third parties.

The agency in May 2019 publicly announced the investigation and said it was being completed in partnership with Dutch authorities. 

Rivera, a former biodiesel trader at Greenergy, has now been charged with two counts of fraud by abuse of position and one count of money laundering. The SFO said the central allegation is that, while agreeing trades between Greenergy Fuels Ltd. and a Dutch trading partner, Biodiesel Kampen BV, he received payments from the director of that company, Cornelis Bunschoten. On a number of occasions, a portion of the monies Rivera received were transferred back to companies linked to Bunschoten.

Additional information is available on the SFO website.