Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Law, regulation and treaties · Russia · 2022–2026

FSC suspension of Russia and Belarus and birch plywood sanctions cases in the EU

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured. Disputed
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 2 not disclosed · 2 not measured · 4 disputed See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Basis of the 61 million ha figure for FSC in Russia
  • Standard-setters and registries FSC: Over 20 years FSC helped preserve 61 million hectares of well-managed forests, including 3.5 million hectares of high conservation value forests. Forest Stewardship Council
  • Press and investigations Timber-Online: 61 million hectares FSC-certified in Russia as of 1 April 2022. Timber-Online (Holzkurier)

In March 2022 the Forest Stewardship Council suspended trading certificates in Russia and Belarus and blocked controlled wood sourcing from both. After the EU banned Russian wood imports in April 2022, enforcement actions over birch plywood declared as Kazakh or Turkish followed in Poland, the Netherlands, Latvia and Greece.

over €1.5 billion estimateBirch plywood estimated to have entered the EU since sanctions (Earthsight)
Retail value, NGO estimate published January 2025; Earthsight estimated a further €273 million from November 2024 to April 2025.

Status As of 17 July 2026: proceedings in Gdańsk and Katowice are ongoing; the only conviction on record, in Latvia (reported 5 March 2026), concerns glued timber.

What?
FSC suspended certification in Russia and Belarus in 2022 and the EU banned Russian wood imports; later enforcement actions in Poland, the Netherlands, Latvia and Greece concerned birch plywood and other timber declared as originating elsewhere. Forest Stewardship Council
Where?
Russia and Belarus (certification); EU states including Poland (Gdańsk, Katowice, Lublin), the Netherlands (Ridderkerk), Latvia and Greece; transit via Kazakhstan, Türkiye, China and Georgia. Earthsight
When?
FSC decision 8 March 2022, effective 8 April 2022; EU Regulation 8 April 2022; arrests in the Netherlands 4 June 2024; Gdańsk charges December 2025; Latvian verdict reported 5 March 2026; EPPO measures 17 July 2026. Forest Stewardship Council
Who?
Gained
  • Importers of plywood declared as Kazakh or Turkish — Alleged evaded customs duties of about €206,000 and unpaid VAT of around €47,000 in one Polish case (EPPO estimate) European Public Prosecutor's Office
Lost
  • Latvian company and customs declarant — Fines of €39,000 and €14,800; €13,935 of proceeds paid to the state Inbox.lv / BB.LV
  • Russian and Belarusian certified forest operators — FSC certificates suspended or terminated from April 2022 Forest Stewardship Council
Harmed
None on record
Why?
FSC cited the association of the forest sector in Russia and Belarus with armed invasion; the EU measure forms part of its sanctions on Russia. Forest Stewardship Council
How?
Authorities describe false declarations of country of origin (Kazakhstan, Türkiye) for plywood of Russian or Belarusian origin, with Earthsight tracing routes via Türkiye, Kazakhstan and China. Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (Poland)
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

On 8 March 2022 the FSC International Board agreed to suspend all trading certificates in Russia and Belarus and to block all controlled wood sourcing from the two countries, "Because of the association of the forest sector in Russia and Belarus with armed invasion." The suspension took effect on 8 April 2022. The Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC) declared all wood from both countries "conflict timber"; PEFC data show 31,976,108 ha certified in Russia and 9,022,400 ha in Belarus at 31 December 2021. FSC's position page, last updated in April 2026, says all forest management certificates in Russia were terminated by the certification bodies, that FSC Russia and FSC International ended their partnership, and that FSC is investigating supply chains involving over 800 certificate holders.

Council Regulation (EU) 2022/576 of 8 April 2022 prohibited importing goods listed in Annex XXI, which includes CN 44 (wood and articles of wood), originating in or exported from Russia; contracts concluded before 9 April 2022 could be executed until 10 July 2022.

In January 2025 Earthsight published "Blood-stained Birch", estimating that birch plywood with a retail value of over €1.5 billion had entered the EU since sanctions took effect, via Türkiye, Kazakhstan and China, naming Russian producers including Segezha, Sveza and Murashinsky and Poland, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Estonia and Greece as the largest importing states. Some of the companies named denied or disputed the allegations; others did not respond.

Enforcement followed. On 4 June 2024 Dutch authorities arrested two company directors from Ridderkerk on suspicion of importing Russian timber through Chinese suppliers in breach of sanctions. In Gdańsk, the Polish National Revenue Administration (KAS) announced on 29 December 2025 that five men had been charged in proceedings it described as concerning the illegal import of Russian and Belarusian birch plywood declared as originating in Kazakhstan and Türkiye. On 17 July 2026 the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO) carried out investigative measures in Poland against a Katowice company director, with estimated evaded customs duties of about €206,000 and unpaid VAT of around €47,000. In Latvia, a court verdict reported on 5 March 2026 fined a company €39,000 and a customs declarant €14,800 over timber imports from Russia; the product was glued timber.

  1. 2022PEFC declares Russian and Belarusian wood conflict timber (2 Mar); FSC Board decision (8 Mar); EU Regulation 2022/576 (8 Apr); FSC suspension effective (8 Apr); import transition ends (10 Jul)
  2. 2024Arrests of two company directors in Ridderkerk, Netherlands (4 Jun)
  3. 2025Earthsight "Blood-stained Birch" (29 Jan); Earthsight estimates further €273 million of imports (14 Jul); charges in Gdańsk reported (29 Dec)
  4. 2026Latvian verdict reported (5 Mar); EPPO investigative measures in Katowice (17 Jul); FSC position page updated (April)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“to suspend all trading certificates in Russia and Belarus and to block all controlled wood sourcing from the two countries”

“Because of the association of the forest sector in Russia and Belarus with armed invasion.”

“We also express our sympathy with those people in Belarus and Russia who do not want this war.”

“All forest management certificates in Russia were terminated by the respective certification bodies.”

“The Forest Etalon system will allow us to preserve the accomplishments which FSC has achieved in Russia over the years.”

“Twenty container-loads continue to arrive every day”

Earthsight, "Blood-stained Birch" · 29 January 2025 · Earthsight

“not aware of any resale of our products to EU countries”

Murashinsky, as reported by Earthsight · 2025 · Earthsight

“we are not responsible for the further movement of goods”

Krasnyi Yakor, as reported by Earthsight · 2025 · Earthsight

“All persons concerned are presumed innocent until proven guilty in the competent Polish courts of law.”

“The penalties that authorities are able to issue for EUTR breaches are often small.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Whether Russian birch plywood reached the EU through the intermediaries named by Earthsight
Communities and civil society
Earthsight

Over €1.5 billion of birch plywood entered the EU since sanctions via Türkiye, Kazakhstan and China.

Earthsight
Company or project
Murashinsky

Not aware of any resale of its products to EU countries.

Earthsight
Company or project
Krasnyi Yakor

Not responsible for the further movement of goods.

Earthsight
Company or project
Tianma Lvjian

Categorically denied the allegations as baseless.

Earthsight
Company or project
SAABR

Not a conduit for illicit trade.

Earthsight
Company or project
Segezha, Sveza, Euro Plywood, Linyi Camel

Did not respond to Earthsight.

Earthsight
Basis of the 61 million ha figure for FSC in Russia
Standard-setters and registries
FSC

Over 20 years FSC helped preserve 61 million hectares of well-managed forests, including 3.5 million hectares of high conservation value forests.

Forest Stewardship Council
Press and investigations
Timber-Online

61 million hectares FSC-certified in Russia as of 1 April 2022.

Timber-Online (Holzkurier)

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • FSC declared that all forest management certificates in Russia had been terminated and that there was a risk of illegal Russian wood entering supply chains through third countries.
    FSC position page (April 2026) · Forest Stewardship Council
  • FSC Russia closed its office and announced a temporary national scheme, "Forest Etalon".
    FSC Russia, via Timber-Online (April 2022) · Timber-Online (Holzkurier)
  • Birch plywood estimated at over €1.5 billion retail value entered the EU since sanctions, with twenty container-loads arriving every day.
    Earthsight (29 January 2025) · Earthsight

Recorded

  • FSC position page: FSC says it helped preserve 61 million hectares of well-managed forests over 20 years, including 3.5 million hectares of high conservation value forests; Timber-Online reported 61 million hectares FSC-certified in Russia at 1 April 2022.
    Forest Stewardship Council
  • FSC: under the Eurasia Integrity Workplan it is investigating supply chains involving over 800 certificate holders; ASI field investigations in Kazakhstan led to two companies leaving FSC and another being blocked.
    Forest Stewardship Council
  • ITTO (November 2022): FSC worldwide 160.3 million ha, decreased 70.4 million ha; the page does not attribute the drop by country.
    International Tropical Timber Organization
  • Council Regulation (EU) 2022/576, Article 3i, prohibits imports of Annex XXI goods (including CN 44, wood and articles of wood) originating in or exported from Russia.
    EUR-Lex
  • Earthsight: duties on Türkiye and Kazakhstan are 15.8%; a new anti-dumping investigation into birch plywood from China was launched in October 2024.
    Earthsight
  • Gdańsk: the proceedings concern the illegal import of Russian and Belarusian birch plywood under a false declaration of origin in Kazakhstan and Türkiye; penalty of imprisonment not shorter than 3 years (KAS).
    Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (Poland)
  • EPPO: documents stated the birch plywood was manufactured in Kazakhstan; the evidence indicates the country of origin was in fact Russia (period October 2023 to April 2025).
    European Public Prosecutor's Office
  • Netherlands: administration, bank accounts, homes and timber stock seized; the NVWA assisted and the Functioneel Parket leads the case.
    BijzonderStrafrecht.nl
  • Latvia: 50 packages (1,260 units) of glued timber confiscated and €13,935 of sale proceeds paid to the state.
    Inbox.lv / BB.LV
  • Greece: customs detained a shipment and several others from the same supplier (Tianma Lvjian), according to Earthsight; investigations are ongoing.
    Duane Morris, European Sanctions Enforcement blog
  • Earthsight: a July 2024 raid by Polish sanctions authorities on an unnamed importer of Kazakh-declared plywood, and a December 2023 EUTR inspection of Alvi-Bel that flagged no violations.
    Earthsight

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
No figure published.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Birch plywood estimated to have entered the EU since sanctions (Earthsight, retail value, to October 2024) estimate€1.5bn
Further imports estimated November 2024 to April 2025 (Earthsight) estimate€273m
Sveza exports to the EU through third countries, retail value (Earthsight, from leaked documents)€38m
Evaded customs duties alleged (EPPO estimate, Poland)€0.21m
Unpaid VAT alleged (EPPO estimate, Poland)€0.05m
Latvia: fine on the company€0.04m
Latvia: fine on the customs declarant€0.01m
Latvia: sale proceeds paid to the state€0.01m
Currency: EUR · Window: 2022–2026. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • fsc (8 March 2022; updated April 2026): Suspended all trading certificates in Russia and Belarus and blocked controlled wood sourcing from both; all forest management certificates in Russia were terminated by certification bodies. · Forest Stewardship Council
  • eppo (17 July 2026): Investigative measures in Poland over alleged evaded customs duties and VAT and suspected sanctions circumvention; all persons concerned are presumed innocent. · European Public Prosecutor's Office
  • poland-kas (29 December 2025): Five men charged in Gdańsk; proceedings described as developing. · Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (Poland)

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

  1. 2025–Ongoing
    Gdańsk proceedings over birch plywood declared as Kazakh or Turkish
    Gdańsk District Prosecutor's Office (Prokuratura Okręgowa w Gdańsku) · Criminal · Gdańsk District Prosecutor's Office → Five men charged (four Polish citizens and one Russian citizen per KAS); not named

    Detentions ordered and five men charged in proceedings that KAS described as concerning the illegal import of Russian and Belarusian birch plywood under a false declaration of origin (Kazakhstan, Türkiye); penalty of imprisonment not shorter than 3 years; proceedings described as developing. Release dated 29 December 2025. Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (Poland)

  2. 2026–Ongoing€0.21m estimated evaded customs duties (approximately; plus around €47,000 unpaid VAT)
    EPPO investigative measures, Katowice company
    European Public Prosecutor's Office · Criminal · European Public Prosecutor's Office → Director of a Katowice company (suspect; not named)

    The director allegedly misled the Customs and Tax Office in Lublin between October 2023 and April 2025 by stating that birch plywood was manufactured in Kazakhstan; the evidence indicates the country of origin was in fact Russia. The suspect was questioned, released and asked to provide a financial guarantee. Investigative measures only; no charge mentioned. European Public Prosecutor's Office

  3. 2024–Ongoing
    Arrests of two company directors over Russian timber imports
    Functioneel Parket (Netherlands), investigated by FIOD · Criminal · Functioneel Parket → A man (73) and a woman (46) from Ridderkerk, directors of two companies; not named

    Arrested on 4 June 2024 on suspicion of buying and importing Russian timber through Chinese suppliers in breach of sanctions; administration, bank accounts, homes and timber stock seized; Timber Trades Journal reported the timber was believed to be birch plywood. BijzonderStrafrecht.nl

  4. 2026Claimant won€0.04m fine on the company; the declarant was fined €14,800
    Latvian verdict over timber imports from Russia
    Latvian court (not named in press coverage) · Criminal · Latvian prosecutors → A company (SIA) and a customs declarant; not named

    Verdict reported on 5 March 2026: the company was fined €39,000, 50 packages (1,260 units) of glued timber were confiscated and €13,935 of sale proceeds went to the state; the customs declarant was separately fined €14,800, in a sentence that took effect in February 2025. The headline total of €70,200 is not itemised. Inbox.lv / BB.LV

  5. 2025–Ongoing
    Greek customs investigation into birch plywood from Tianma Lvjian
    Greek customs (authority not named) · Administrative · Greek customs authority → Shipments from Tianma Lvjian

    Customs detained a shipment and several others from the same supplier, according to Earthsight; investigations are ongoing. Duane Morris, European Sanctions Enforcement blog

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Birch plywood entering the EU (NGO estimate)
over €1.5 billion
Retail value since sanctions took effect (Earthsight, January 2025)
Certificate holders under investigation
over 800
FSC, Eurasia Integrity Workplan
High conservation value forest
3.5 million ha
FSC figure for forests it says it helped preserve in Russia
Evaded duties alleged in one Polish case
approximately €206,000
EPPO, October 2023 to April 2025

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Case pending / contestedNo independent ecological evaluation

Nature

  • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.
  • Disputed Basis of the 61 million ha figure for FSC in Russia

Accounts

  • Disputed Whether Russian birch plywood reached the EU through the intermediaries named by Earthsight
  • None on record Segezha, Sveza, Euro Plywood, Linyi Camel: Did not respond to Earthsight.

Record

  • Not measured Not measured: harm to forests. The enforcement records and the FSC and sanctions decisions concern war revenue, customs and certification integrity and carry no measure of forest harm.
  • Disputed Disputed: the Russian FSC area figure of 61 million ha. FSC words it as forests helped preserve over 20 years; Timber-Online reports it as FSC-certified area in Russia at 1 April 2022.
  • Disputed Figures differ: the Polish customs administration reported four Polish citizens and one Russian citizen among the five men charged in Gdańsk; another press report gave three Poles and two Russians.
  • None on record None on record: a court verdict in a birch plywood sanctions case. The only conviction on record (Latvia) concerns glued timber.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the court and the parties in the Latvian verdict, and whether it is final; the €70,200 headline total is not itemised.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: the authority conducting the Greek investigation.
  • None on record None on record: charges in the EPPO Katowice measures, which are investigative measures only.

Did the harm stop?

None on record.

Who paid?

In Latvia a company was fined €39,000 and a customs declarant €14,800, with €13,935 of sale proceeds going to the state. Elsewhere proceedings are ongoing.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ Standard-setters and registries✓ International bodies

Government and regulators

  2. KAS and Border Guard counter sanctions evasion in birch plywood
    Krajowa Administracja Skarbowa (Poland) · 2025-12-29

Press and investigations

  2. FSC Russia to launch its own certification system
    Timber-Online (Holzkurier) · 2022-04-12
  3. Blood-stained Birch
    Earthsight · 2025-01-29
  7. Latvia – company and individual convicted of timber imports from Russia
    Duane Morris, European Sanctions Enforcement blog · 2026-03-09
  8. Greece – investigation into alleged imports of sanctioned Russian birch
    Duane Morris, European Sanctions Enforcement blog · 2025-07-15

Communities and civil society

Standard-setters and registries

  3. FAQs on the current situation in Russia and Belarus
    Forest Stewardship Council · 2022-03-31

International bodies

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

Bonds and banking

Guarantee
A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.

Carbon and conservation finance

Standard-setter and registry
An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.
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