The plywood pretended to be goods from Kazakhstan. The prosecutor's office reveals the behind-the-scenes

Five people suspected of importing wood products in the form of plywood and strips from Russia and Belarus face up to 30 years in prison. Circumvention of EU sanctions imposed in connection with the aggression against Ukraine occurred in the years 2022-2024, the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk reported on Monday.

Information about the arrest and charges was provided to PAP by the spokesman of the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, Mariusz Duszyński. He explained that the preparatory proceedings, conducted jointly by officers of the Maritime Branch of the Border Guard in Gdańsk and the Pomeranian Customs and Tax Office in Gdynia and supervised by the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, concern violations of sanctions aimed at preventing support for aggression against Ukraine related to the ban on importing wood products from Russia and Belarus in the form of plywood and wooden strips.

– In the course of the proceedings, it was established that within the group of entities based in Pomerania in the years 2022-2024, there was circumvention of EU sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus in connection with the aggression against Ukraine – said prosecutor Duszyński.

He also emphasized that persons acting on behalf of entities from the Polish market used various mechanisms to circumvent sanctions, including: during the established transitional period, they pretended to deliver deliveries allegedly in execution of previously concluded contracts with Russian and Belarusian entities.

Additionally, after the transitional period, they pretended that the wood goods came from Kazakhstan and Turkey and marked the goods with an incorrect customs tariff code simulating the delivery of products not covered by sanctions.

– The findings of the investigation were based, among others, on: based on a protocol of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and a report of the European Commission, as well as materials obtained as part of legal assistance from Kazakhstan, analysis of wood samples and analysis of documentation and data recorded on over 100 IT media, the spokesman said.

On the prosecutor's order, on December 18, MOSG and PUCS officers detained three Polish citizens: 64-year-old Franciszek B., 48-year-old Marian K. and 56-year-old Piotr K. and two citizens Russia: 43-year-old Aleksandr P. and 57-year-old Sergei M.

The detainees were brought to the District Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, where they were charged with committing acts under Art. 15 section 1 point 1 of the Act, specific solutions for counteracting support for aggression against Ukraine and for protecting national security, as well as with Art. 87 pairs 2 of the Penal Code and others regarding the import of wood products into the territory of the Republic of Poland in the form of plywood and wooden strips, which are subject to non-tariff regulations and sanctions of the European Union.

After carrying out the activities involving the suspects, the prosecutor submitted requests to the court to apply preventive measures to all suspects in the form of pre-trial detention for three months, but the court did not accept the prosecutor's requests. The prosecutor's office filed an appeal against this decision.

The suspected crimes are punishable by imprisonment from 3 to 30 years. The prosecutor's office emphasizes that the investigation is ongoing and charges against additional suspects may not be ruled out. (PAP)

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