Long Sutton businessman who made £4million from illegal catalytic converter sales still on the run… but court agrees to confiscate assets

A businessman who absconded after making a criminal benefit of more than £4million from illegally trading in catalytic converters is still at large, a court heard.

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 sentence, and his case was adjourned for investigators to pursue his financial assets.

But a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday, May 16 was told Stancik had still not been arrested and was likely to be living in Lithuania.

Investigators had found a likely address for Stancik in Lithuania, 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 their investigation from assets seized from his company.

Between December 2019 and September 2021, Stancik, now 31, acted as the director of Platinum Group Metals Recycling Ltd. It was through this company that 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 £495,280.88p were available from the company, made up of cash in the firm's bank account and seized catalytic converters.

Stancik's only asset is £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 their investigation.

The Recorder made it clear Stancik was likely to face a custodial sentence if he were 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 obtained an environmental permit before buying and selling thousands of catalytic converters.

Stancik stored the containers at his home address and at containers in Lime Walk, Long Sutton.

The devices were stored in an irresponsible manner, giving rise to an unacceptable risk to human health.

Prosecuting for the Environment Agency, barrister Barnaby Hone told the court that the agency had been investigating Stancik and Platinum Group Metals Recycling Ltd.

The investigation found that Stancik and his company had been buying large quantities of catalytic converters and had sold at least 71 tonnes of them for recycling.

Further investigations revealed that the business had turned over millions of pounds

A warrant was executed at the two Long Sutton addresses where Environment Agency officers, working with Lincolnshire Police, found a large number of catalytic converters.

Many of these devices were damaged, exposing their dangerous innards.

It took the jury less than half an hour to reach unanimous guilty verdicts against both Stancik and the company.