€1.5bn in Russian 'blood timber' has reached EU

An investigation claims that since the introduction of sanctions on Russia in July 2022, in response to its invasion of Ukraine, €1.5bn ($1.56bn) of illegal timber has entered the EU.

The probe by UK-based non-profit Earthsight suggests that 20 container loads of sanctions-busting birch plywood – part of a trade in what it calls 'blood timber' – are entering the EU daily thanks to laundering activities by a network of overseas firms and EU-based traders that are operating in all 27 member states.

Companies using the timber – and putting themselves at risk of hefty financial penalties or referral for criminal prosecution – include prominent manufacturers of climbing walls, toys, flooring, furniture and other products, according to the non-governmental organisation (NGO).

Earthsight carried out its investigation by posing as potential buyers of timber products over a nine-month period, revealing the actors in the illicit trade "at every stage of the supply chain, from the manufacturing giants in Russia, through the firms laundering their products in China, Kazakhstan, and Turkiye, to their customers in the EU."

End users include Bulgarian climbing wall producer Walltopia and Polish furniture chain Black Red White, according to the exposé, which estimates that more than 500,000 cubic metres of blood timber has been shipped to the EU since sanctions were imposed.

Seven of the top ten Russian birch ply exporters are still supplying the EU, including firms linked to billionaire oligarchs Alexei Mordashov and Vladimir Yevtushenkov who met with Putin on the day of the invasion of Ukraine.

Worryingly, the NGO says it has been sharing its findings with authorities across the EU since early 2023, but has "received little response" with enforcement activity "sporadic and…insufficient to deter illegal imports."

Earthsight is also calling for timber sanctions to be amended to include goods made with Russian timber in third countries, making enforcement easier, and has criticised the European Commission for failing to coordinate enforcement operations across the bloc.

Among its recommendations are that customs authorities in all EU member states should be instructed by EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) authorities to hold all shipments of birch plywood and not release them for free circulation until checks are completed.

"Profit-hungry smugglers find it all too easy to launder plywood through third countries and into Europe via soft entry points. It’s so easy that as much as a fifth of all the birch ply on sale in Europe today is thought to be illegal Russian blood timber," commented Earthsight's timber and sanctions team lead Tara Ganesh.

"With the outlook for Ukraine looking bleak, Poland should use its current Presidency of the EU to end this blood-stained trade once and for all," she added.