9 Lithuanian companies accused of importing timber from Russia and Belarus in violation of EU sanctions

Lithuanian authorities have submitted to prosecutors evidence against nine Lithuanian companies which violated EU sanctions by falsely presenting Russian and Belarusian plywood, pellets, and other timber products as originating from Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. This comes after an The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) investigation. After OCCRP published its finding in December 2022, the Lithuanian State Consumer Rights Protection Authority (SCRPA), responsible for implementing sanctions in the timber sector, initiated its own investigation in early 2023 into 95 companies engaged in timber imports from non-EU countries. "According to SCRPA's assessment, nine companies may have violated ...