The key facts
- A PRC citizen received 5.5 years in a penal colony and a fine of 500,000 rubles, while the Russian received a fine of 450,000 rubles for aiding the crime.
- In 2022, more than 450 cubic meters of birch sawlogs of unconfirmed origin were exported to China under a fictitious contract.
- The investigation against a third defendant has been suspended due to his illness; the verdict may be appealed.
Verdict in the timber export case
The Khabarovsk district court has handed down verdicts to two participants in a scheme for the illegal export of Russian timber to China. A citizen of the PRC was sentenced to five and a half years in a general-regime penal colony and a fine of 500,000 rubles, while his Russian accomplice was found guilty of aiding smuggling and received only a fine of 450,000 rubles, taking into account the time he had spent in custody and under house arrest. This was reported by the joint press service of the courts of Khabarovsk Krai, as reported by Life.ru. The Chinese national was taken into custody right in the courtroom.
The scheme and the defense's position
According to the court, in 2022 the defendants organized the supply of birch sawlogs to China whose origin was not confirmed by the required documents. A fictitious supply contract was used to pass customs control; in total, more than 450 cubic meters of timber worth over three million rubles were exported abroad in this way. Both defendants denied their guilt: the PRC citizen claimed that he worked for hire at a foreign company and only checked the quality of the goods, while the Russian insisted that he was unaware of his partners' criminal plans. The court rejected these arguments and qualified the Chinese citizen's actions as smuggling of strategically important resources committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy.
What remains undetermined
The investigation against another alleged participant in the scheme has been suspended due to an illness that prevents him from taking part in court proceedings. The verdict against the two convicted men has not yet entered into legal force and may be appealed, so the final sentences may still change.
