ILLEGAL BELARUS TIMBER FLOWS TO EU CIRCUMVENTING SANCTIONS VIA CENTRAL ASIA

On 21 December, EurActiv reported that Belarus is circumventing EU sanctions by exporting its timber to EU countries using false documents claiming that the wood comes from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.  It is said that the scheme should have raised suspicion in the EU because it has led to a 74-fold increase of wood exports from Kazakhstan and 18,000-fold surge from Kyrgyzstan in 2022, compared to the previous year.

https://www.euractiv.com/section/europe-s-east/news/belarus-timber-flows-to-eu-circumventing-sanctions-via-central-asia/

https://www.occrp.org/en/28-ccwatch/cc-watch-indepth/17190-traders-are-sneaking-banned-russian-and-belarusian-wood-into-the-eu-by-pretending-its-from-central-asia

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/KoIvM842y

Author: raytodd2017

Chartered Legal Executive and former senior manager with Isle of Man Customs and Excise, where I was (amongst other things) Sanctions Officer (for UN/EU sanctions), Export Licensing Officer and Manager of the Legal-Library & Collectorate Support Section View all posts by raytodd2017