DIY shops in Europe selling wood taken illegally from Russia, report alleges

More than 100,000 tonnes of lumber from taiga region enters EU countries in illegal timber scandal

DIY shops across Europe are selling wood taken illegally from Russia's far-east taiga region, where corruption is contributing to the rapid destruction of virgin forests, a report has claimed.

More than 100,000 tonnes of lumber have entered Germany, France and other EU countries as part of one of Russia's biggest illegal timber scandals, it is alleged. The business is in turn linked to two companies registered in the UK.