Two people have been arrested in The Netherlands on suspicion of violating timber import sanctions on Russian wood products.
The Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), based in the Netherlands, said a 73-year-old man and a 46-year-old woman from Ridderkerk were arrested on June 4.
FIOD said both were directors of two companies and are suspected of purchasing and importing Russian timber products – believed to be birch plywood – in violation of trade restrictions imposed by the sanctions.
They are also suspected of circumventing the sanctions law by purchasing Russian wood through Chinese suppliers.
FIOD said their homes and businesses in Ridderkerk have been searched, while the stock in question has been seized.
The ban on Russian wood imports to the EU has been in effect since April 2022 due to the Ukraine conflict.
The investigation of violations of financial sanctions in the Netherlands is the responsibility of the FIOD, which tracks down persons and entities that try to circumvent the sanctions or who do not comply with the sanctions.
