A Lincolnshire-based businessman who absconded after making more than £4 million from illegally trading in catalytic convertors is still at large, a court heard on Friday.
Edvars Stancik, formerly of St Thomas Court, Long Sutton, was found guilty in his absence after he failed to attend his trial at Lincoln Crown Court in September last year.
An arrest warrant was issued for Stancik’s sentencing and his case was adjourned for investigators to pursue his financial assets. A Proceeds of Crime hearing at Lincoln Crown Court was told Stancik had still not been arrested and was likely living in Lithuania.
Investigators had found a likely address for him, but he had failed to respond, the court was told.
The hearing was told extradition proceedings had not begun against Stancik and the Environment Agency was focusing on recovering the costs of its investigation from assets seized from his company.
Between December 2019 and September 2021, Stancik (now 31) acted as a director of Platinum Group Metals Recycling Ltd. He traded catalytic converters on a large scale.
Recorder John Hardy KC ruled that Stancik had made a benefit of £4,312,925.70 from his criminal activity, with his company making a benefit of £4,344,827.60.
The court heard assets of £495,280.88 were available from the company, with cash in the firm’s bank account and seized catalytic convertors.
Stancik’s only asset was £30,934.16 from equity in a house he sold before his trial, the court was told.
Recorder Hardy ordered those amounts to be confiscated and ruled that £100,111.65 should be paid to the Environment Agency in compensation to cover the costs of its investigation.
He made it clear Stancik was likely to face a custodial sentence if he is arrested, and said future applications could be made to seize more assets if they were available.
A jury heard that neither Stancik nor his company had an environmental permit before buying and selling thousands of catalytic converters.
He stored the containers at his home address and at containers in Lime Walk, Long Sutton. They gave rise to an unacceptable risk to human health.
Prosecuting for the Environment Agency, barrister, Barnaby Hone told the court that Stancik and his company had been buying large quantities of catalytic converters and sold at least 71 tonnes of them. Further investigations revealed the business had turned over millions of pounds.
A large number of catalytic converters. Many were exposing their dangerous innards.
It took the jury less than half an hour to reach unanimous guilty verdicts against both Stancik and the company.
