The Dutch Financial Intelligence and Investigation Service (FIOD) has seized timber stocks from two companies suspected of trading timber from Russia

On 17 April 2025, the Dutch tax authority FIOD seized timber stocks from two companies for the second time. This happened as part of an investigation into the trade in sanctioned Russian timber, which the companies allegedly sold through Chinese suppliers, despite previous arrests and confiscations in 2024.

The investigation is being conducted with the support of the NVWA and the Public Prosecution Service and focuses on violations of sanctions legislation and the European Timber Regulation (EUTR), which prohibits the import of illegally harvested timber.

Since April 2022, the EU has imposed a ban on Russian timber as part of sanctions aimed at reducing the financing of the war in Ukraine. Violations of these rules are punishable under the Sanctions Act and the Economic Crimes Act.

Source: FIOD