Just as in the world of commercial competition, preventing illegal activity of all kinds has increasingly taken on worldwide significance. As a result, in seeking to enforce the country’s environmental policies with regards to safe and effective waste disposal, the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment has turned to i2’s iBase and Analyst’s Notebook to seek to eradicate fraud in the disposal of hazardous substances in other parts of the world.

“i2 tools enable us to uncover hidden links between organisations, vessels and financial transactions that
would simply be impossible if undertaken manually or by using spreadsheets.”
– Robert Los, Specialist Analyst, Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment

Situation
As part of the Ministry’s remit to enforce Holland’s many environmental laws with limited resources, it is essential at a strategic level to determine areas of greatest priority in minimizing the impact on the environment, both in Holland and in other parts of the world. In his role as a tactical analyst Robert Los’ task is to identify organisations undertaking potentially suspect activities in these key focus areas and work with other agencies in establishing evidence of wrongdoing.

One area of particular focus continues to be combating the illegal transfer of hazardous waste between countries.“This is especially important to us in Holland,” he confirms.“As Rotterdam is the world’s second largest port, it acts as the hub for many suspect shipments – whether originating in Holland or elsewhere - giving us a unique window of opportunity to pinpoint and then track those operating outside the law.”

The illegal transfer of waste has a number of damaging financial and environmental consequences. Under the principle of producer responsibility, companies recycling waste must pay for its transfer to an approved destination, but can then claim back VAT on the transaction. However, an unscrupulous business making such a claim may then divert the waste to an unauthorised destination in another part of the world, where companies are prepared to pay for waste as they use all the recyclable materials and components – especially in the case of e-waste such as computers.

Not only does this defraud the tax authorities, but such waste is frequently processed in very poor conditions, damaging the environment and putting the health – and even the lives – of local workers at risk, as raw materials are extracted often with no precautionary measures in place to protect against toxic fumes.

The Dutch authorities have historically faced a formidable challenge in tackling this problem, by pulling together and investigating all the information on an individual business which might exist in diverse data sources.

Solution
The Ministry of Housing quickly recognised that the unique ability of both iBase and Analyst’s Notebook to assimilate and analyse data from a disparate array of sources on a global scale would prove especially valuable in improving its environmental performance by helping identify and stamp out the illegal movement of waste products.

The Ministry knew that information relating to different aspects of an organisation’s commercial activity exists on police files, customs and the tax office databases for example. Yet though these are all government authorities, it proved to be difficult to connect relevant data in such a way that any discrepancies or other indications as to possible illegal activity could be disclosed.

By contrast, in using i2 software, the Ministry is now able to assimilate proprietary and open-source data from all third-party sources, from fellow public authorities to independent environmental organisations, into the iBase repository. Using Analyst’s Notebook, the Ministry is now in a position to unearth and probe anything which looks suspicious - from individual financial transactions or year-on-year comparisons on tax payments to ship movements or relationships with other third parties.

Outcome
Even at this early stage of deployment, Los has seen a remarkable difference in his departments’ ability to support the drive to identify illegal waste shipments. He is especially pleased with the i2 tools as they are highly intuitive and easy to use, thus allowing him to interrogate large volumes of data relating to several hundred target companies transporting waste. As a result, he has been able to very quickly pinpoint a small number of organisations demanding closer analysis, as a result of unearthing hidden links.

It has enabled the Ministry to connect the right dots and make sense of an ocean of data coming in from all directions. As a result, they can now take decisive action in preventing crime and its damaging impact on the economy, the general public and the environment.

“For us, the ability of i2 software to provide visibility and help us make intelligent connections is crucial to the successful pursuit of illegal activity, irrespective of geography. As a result, it helps us make best use of finite resources in providing timely, high quality analysis for colleagues in the investigative front line.”
– Robert Los, Specialist Analyst, Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment