A director of an illegal waste company, Barry Connally, has been ordered to pay back over £179,000 that he obtained through proceeds of crime from his unlawful operations.
Connally, 70, was the sole director of Rhino Recycling Limited that operated a waste treatment facility. Between March 2013 and December 20015 he ran the facility without the necessary environmental permit. In June 2019 Connally was sentenced to 12 months' custody, suspended for 18 months and was ordered to complete 160 hours' unpaid work in the community.
During the hearing, the judge found that Connally prioritised profit and adopted an "arrogant approach to the regulatory regime". Following the sentencing, the Environment Agency went on to bring confiscation proceedings against Connally to recover the proceeds of crime. In passing a confiscation order, Worcester Crown Court heard that he used Rhino Recycling Limited's company persona to conceal his identity as the true actor in relation to the illegal waste operation.
It was found that between March 2013 and December 2015, Connally acquired over £1,000,000 in criminal benefit from the company's illegal waste operations. He was ordered to pay back £179,373.36 as it was the sum total of all his assets available.
Connally also pleaded guilty to contempt of court for disposing of a portion of his assets between September 2019 and July 2020, contrary to the orders by the court forbidding him from doing so. For that offence, he was sentenced to four months' imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
Following the sentencing, a spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "This case shows that we're not just content to prosecute those who run illegal waste sites, we'll also come after them to get back the profits they made from their illegal activities and to recoup taxpayers' money spent on pursuing them."
