In 2008, the Slovak government sold about 15 million tons of CO2 worth of emission units to a small US firm called Interblue, in an offset-scheme under the Kyoto Protocol. There was no tender or auction, and the minister in charge refused to disclose the selling price, even as connections between his party and the company started to raise questions. Journalists eventually found out that an Interblue manager had worked at the ministry earlier, and that the units had been traded at half of their market price, causing the state significant financial losses. It also turned out that Interblue was a shell-company set up shortly before the deal, operating from a garage and with no experience in carbon trading. After acquiring the units, Interblue sold them at a significantly higher price, making US$ 47 million and transferring the proceeds through a network of companies. While there were accusations of public officials benefitting from the deal, a case over abuse of power was closed as the general prosecutor did not deem the transaction illegal.