Polish customs and Fiscal Service officers have detained three people in connection with a birch plywood shipment suspected of violating sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) on imported wood products from Belarus and Russia.
Poland’s Masovian National Fiscal Administration (KAS) is investigating the case following the inspection of a plywood warehouse in April. The suspects have been charged and placed in pre-trial detention for three months.
The investigation is under the supervision of the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw.
According to a KAS statement, officers have determined that a Polish company is importing Belarusian birch plywood through companies from Kazakhstan, thus violating the sanctions imposed on Belarus and Russia.
The suspects’ places of residence, office premises and warehouses in the Mazovian, Wielkopolska and Podlaskie provinces were searched. Among other things, accounting documentation, electronic equipment and plywood located in the warehouses were secured. Samples of the goods were also taken for laboratory tests.
The detainees were charged in the District Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw with, among others, customs fraud and committing a crime involving a violation of sanctions.
According to the statement, the accused could face a sentence of imprisonment of three years and a fine if found guilty.
