Traders Are Sneaking Banned Russian and Belarusian Wood Into the EU By Pretending It’s From Central Asia

Sanctions

Traders Are Sneaking Banned Russian and Belarusian Wood Into the EU By Pretending It’s From Central Asia

25. January, 2023 Sarunas Cerniauskas (Siena/OCCRP), Olga Ratmirova (BIC), Kseniya Viaznikoutsava (BIC), Ales Yarashevich (BIC), and Julia Dauksza (Frontstory.pl)

Not long after imposing sanctions on wood imports from Russia and Belarus, Europe saw an influx of wood supposedly coming from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Authorities say sanctions-busters are increasingly mislabeling wood as Central Asian so they can keep bringing it in to the EU.

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