Wolves in green suits: How environmental commodities traders Bram Bastiaansen and  Jaap Janssen reaped the system

In The Wolf of Wall Street, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Jordan Belfort built a high-octane empire selling dubious stock to unsuspecting clients. In return, he made a lot of money and lived large on lies, drugs, and manipulation. Some people may think such a financial atrocity is impossible in the 21st century. But across Amsterdam’s elite green trading floors, a strikingly similar script is unfolding. The difference is that this time, it’s cloaked in climate virtue.

At the heart of this alleged climate finance scandal are Bram Bastiaansen and Jaap Janssen. Once junior traders, they managed to amass millions of euros in personal wealth thanks to building Amsterdam Capital Trading (ACT) and earlier stints at STX Group. These men turned carbon credits and green certificates into billion-euro businesses, riding the climate crisis straight to the top. Their eventual success and the tactics that made it possible can best be described as The Wolf of Wall Street reborn in wind turbines and rainforest backdrops.

Here’s what happened

According to a 2024 investigation by Follow the Money, both firms allegedly sold environmental products (carbon credits, Guarantees of Origin, biofuel certificates) that might be a hoax. In one case, ACT was alleged to have bought thousands of carbon credits from a Zimbabwean forest project later revealed to be largely fictional. Over 60% of the credits were flawed. Their competitor STX followed similar trails, allegedly selling large volumes of near-worthless carbon credits despite warnings from market analysts.

Also, behind the glossy websites and sustainability slogans allegedly lies a ruthless internal culture built on intimidation, legal traps, and silencing dissent. Just like Stratton Oakmont’s cult-like loyalty, ACT and STX allegedly use NDAs and extreme contract clauses to trap their staff in silence.

Lock-in clauses and legal ,uzzles

Multiple ex-employees, still bound by non-disclosure agreements they were forced to sign, spoke anonymously to Follow The Money. One of the most shocking clauses was said to be a mandatory 12-month unpaid cooling-off period if employees wanted to move to another company in the same industry. If breached, employees could face penalties of up to €10,000 per day. Is the industry so corroded that their legal advisors are okay with this?

This isn’t just an ethical red flag; it’s a warning siren for the entire green finance ecosystem. When firms that claim to save the planet also crush worker mobility and transparency with mafia-grade tactics, it begs the question: who’s regulating the climate regulators?

This is an industry-wideproblem

By the way, the parallels don’t end with ACT and STX. Across the climate industry, there’s a pattern of toxic masculinity and unchecked abuse that mirrors Wall Street's worst behaviours; from Conservation International’s bullying and harassment scandals, to the Green Climate Fund’s institutional sexism, and allegations of sexual abuse at Wildlife Works’ carbon project in Kenya. Unfortunately, the climate space is becoming a haven for “alpha” men who weaponise virtue to get away with vice.

Even the international COP climate summits aren’t spared. Female delegates have reported groping, degrading comments, and infantilization, all under the gaze of an industry that claims to be building a more just, sustainable world.

Crooks takes over ACT

Unfortunately, Jaap Janssen died in 2022. And Bastiaansen, who stepped down as CEO in 2023, is now worth a reported €335 million. The firm is currently headed by Colin Crooks, a former Shell executive. And it remains backed by major investors like Bridgepoint and Three Hills Capital, lending it the appearance of credibility, just the same way Belfort surrounded himself with lawyers, bankers, and a polished corporate front in the film earlier referenced. Indeed, this is all too reminiscent of 1980s banking floors. It also makes you wonder whether their alleged toxic culture appeals to their investors and buyers.

ACT and its peers may be selling solutions that do little more than greenwash emissions. Carbon credits and certificates traded with little oversight or verification become get-rich-quick tokens in a market designed to look clean, not be clean.

And while the world applauds the financial innovation behind these climate solutions, insiders are sounding alarms despite being gagged with the fear of being locked out of the industry for a year or hit with five-figure daily fines.

In the end, this isn’t just about two Dutch environmental commodities trading firms. It’s a broader indictment of a climate industry that has allowed “green wolves” to run the show, men who exploit urgent environmental need and weaponise climate credibility to enrich themselves, muzzle critics, and lock employees into silence.

What The Wolf of Wall Street taught us, and what ACT and STX are proving, is that when regulation lags behind innovation, greed always fills the vacuum. The question now is whether regulators, investors, and the public will wake up to the façade before the green dream turns into another financial nightmare… and at the expense of actual mitigating actions against climate change.

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