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BBC News
17-06-2025
- BBC News
Fariba Vancor: Sweden's 'Queen of trash' jailed for waste dumping
A Swedish businesswoman who called herself the Queen of Trash has been sentenced to six years in prison in one of the country's biggest environmental crime Vancor, formerly known as Bella Nilsson, was convicted of 19 counts of "aggravated environmental crime" after her waste management company Think Pink illegally dumped toxic waste in locations across former CEO is one of 10 people to be convicted of environmental crimes, including her ex-husband Thomas of the accused were handed prison sentences ranging from two to six years and ordered to pay millions of pounds in damages to fund the massive clean-up operation. Think Pink was reportedly responsible for dumping or burying some 200,000 tonnes of waste in central Sweden between 2015 and was hired by local authorities, construction companies and private individuals to dispose of everything from building materials, electronics, metals, plastics, wood, tyres and instead of legally disposing of the waste, Think Pink buried or dumped it on sites including agricultural properties, court documents argued that Think Pink – which went bankrupt in 2020 when Vancor was arrested - had "no intention or ability to handle [the waste] in line with environmental legislation".The waste was found to contain various substances harmful to both human health and the environment, such as arsenic, lead, and one incident, a Think Pink waste pile near a nature reserve burned for two months after spontaneously combusting.A total of 11 people were charged in the case, with five convicted of serious charges and five of lesser charges. One person was acquitted - Leif-Ivan Karlsson, a TV personality who worked in a marketing role for Think of the defendants have been banned from business activities for between five and ten years, according to the court of the defendants denied wrongdoing. Throughout the trial, Vancor insisted that Think Pink had "followed the law", and any wrongdoing had occurred by mistake, AFP news agency defence lawyer Jan Tibbling told Swedish news outlet SVT that his client would appeal the verdict. "She believes she has done nothing wrong", he ex-husband Nilssen will also request that the verdict is reviewed, SVT reported. His lawyer previously argued that as chief executive before 2015, he was not in charge when the offences were court document states that the five main defendents must pay "around a quarter billion kronor in damages to Botkyrka and Vasteras municipalities among others" for the clean-up, which involves clearing away mountains of dumped waste as well as decontaminating the case has been described by Swedish media as the biggest environmental scandal in the country's recent history. In 2018, prior to the criminal investigation into Think Pink's practices, Vancor reportedly won a prestigious award for her according to SVT, prior to the investigation, the landfill sites managed by the company were increasingly criticised by those who lived couple, Eva and Willy Nowak, will be paid damages after a waste pile near their home in Botkyrka caught fire, exposing them to dangerous levels of lead, the public broadcaster reported."You shouldn't be able to throw rubbish in nature and make money from it," Mrs Nowak told SVT after the judgement was announced."Now they can sit and think about what they have done," she said.
The Guardian
17-06-2025
- The Guardian
Swedish ‘queen of trash' jailed for dumping hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic waste
A Swedish entrepreneur who once called herself the 'queen of trash' has been sentenced to six years in prison for illegally dumping hundreds of thousands of tons of toxic waste in the country's biggest ever environmental crime case. Fariba Vancor, previously known as Bella Nilsson and the former chief executive of waste management company Think Pink, was convicted on Tuesday of 19 counts of serious environmental crimes. Her ex-husband, Thomas Nilsson, was found guilty of 12 counts of serious environmental crimes and given a sentence of three years and six months in prison. Of the 11 people who went on trial in September, all but one of them were convicted of environmental crimes by the Södertörn district court in Huddinge, near Stockholm. Niklas Schüllerqvist, one of the judges in the case, said Think Pink's dumping had posed 'great risks to people and the environment' and compared the business to 'a kind of pyramid scheme'. 'Waste management has been deficient or incorrect to a significant extent. It has also caused environmental damage through emissions and, in some cases, great risks to people and the environment,' he said. 'There is therefore no doubt that there have been environmental crimes at the places where the waste has been handled.' Of the 11 on trial, five people, including Vancor and Nilsson, were sentenced to prison for between two and six years for serious environmental crimes and five others were sentenced to shorter prison sentences or suspended sentences for environmental crimes. The person who was acquitted was Think Pink's former chief executive, the TV personality Leif-Ivan Karlsson. The five main defendants were ordered to pay about a quarter of a billion kronor (£19m) in damages, including to Botkyrka municipality and the city of Västerås. The case was the largest ever handled by Sweden's national unit for environmental and work environment cases, involving a multi-year legal process and more than 80 days of hearings. The verdict was almost 700 pages long. 'It was a very extensive investigation – 150 witnesses and experts have been heard, as well as around 20 plaintiffs,' Schüllerqvist said. Sign up to Down to Earth The planet's most important stories. Get all the week's environment news - the good, the bad and the essential after newsletter promotion All defendants denied wrongdoing. Vancor's defence team said it was surprised by Tuesday's verdict. 'It was a little unexpected,' lawyer Jan Tibbling told the newspaper Aftonbladet, adding: 'Of course, we're not happy.' He said he had yet to speak to his client to discuss whether to lodge an appeal.
Free Malaysia Today
08-05-2025
- Free Malaysia Today
Sweden's ‘Queen of Trash' risks prison in toxic waste crime trial
Former Think Pink chief executive Bella Nilsson and two others are charged with 'aggravated environmental crime'. (EPA Images pic) STOCKHOLM : Prosecutors called on Thursday for Sweden's self-proclaimed 'Queen of Trash' and four others to be jailed for six years for illegally dumping toxic waste, as the country's biggest environmental crime trial ended. The once-acclaimed waste management company Think Pink is accused of dumping or burying some 200,000 tonnes of waste from the Stockholm area at 21 sites from 2015 to 2020, with no intention of processing it correctly. Its former chief executive Bella Nilsson, an ex-stripper who once called herself the 'Queen of Trash', is charged with 'aggravated environmental crime'. Two others who also served as chief executive at times – Nilsson's ex-husband Thomas Nilsson who founded the company, and Leif-Ivan Karlsson, an eccentric entrepreneur who starred in a reality show about his over-the-top lifestyle – face the same charge and possible sentence. So do 'waste broker' Robert Silversten and Tobias Gustafsson, accused of organising the transportation of the waste. All five deny the charges. 'We did everything correctly. We did it legally. We followed the law,' Bella Nilsson told the district court. Her lawyer Thomas Olsson rejected the prosecution's claim the company used falsified documents to mislead authorities, and said any wrongdoing was 'by mistake'. Bella Nilsson – who has now changed her name to Fariba Vancor – has insisted she is the victim of a plot by business rivals. The prosecution also sought a three-year sentence against an environmental consultant accused of helping the company pass inspections, as well as sentences of between eight and 18 months for five landowners. Think Pink was hired by municipalities, construction companies, apartment co-operatives and private individuals to dispose of primarily building materials but also electronics, metals, plastics, wood, tyres and toys. But, Think Pink left the piles of waste unsorted and abandoned, the court heard. High levels of toxic PCB compounds, lead, mercury, arsenic and other chemicals were released into the air, soil and water, prosecutors said, endangering the health of human, animal and plant life. The trial opened in Sept 2024 after an investigation lasting several years and comprising more than 45,000 pages. 'This trial is unique in scope. There has been a lot of material to go through, large amounts of waste… and the investigation and trial lasted a long time,' prosecutor Anders Gustafsson told AFP. He said Think Pink's motive was money. 'It's extremely costly for a company to do the right thing. You make a lot if you collect the waste and don't sort it properly.' Several municipalities have sought damages for clean-up and decontamination costs, totalling 260 million kronor (US$27 million). One of the biggest claims is from the Botkyrka city council, where two Think Pink waste piles burned for months in 2020 and 2021 after spontaneously combusting. One was near two nature reserves. The verdict is due on June 17.
