Representatives of Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia are intensively carrying out activities throughout the territory of the country in order to detect and expose illegal timber extractors, sellers of wood materials with the use of forged documents and illegally operating timber enterprises. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of illegal logging cases, thus, the activities of the Investigation Service in this direction are becoming especially active.
From 26th of July 2018, investigative activities began at the same time in the regions of Imereti, Adjara, Kakheti, Guria, Racha - Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti, Shida Kartli, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Samegrelo - Zemo Svaneti.
Within the investigative activities, checking of the legality of the activities of timber processing and selling enterprises is performed, also the detection of timber enterprises without registration is taking place. Similar activities should have been carried out in the villages of Tchuberi and Khaishi, where the local population prevented the employees of the Investigation Service from fulfilling their duties. Due to abovementioned, in these villages, for the reasons of security of the employees of the Investigation Service and the full implementation of their activities, it became necessary to mobilize the Special Detachment Unit, the legally entrusted direct authority of which is to ensure assistance in implementing investigative activities.
This necessity raised from the fact that the local population of the villages Tchuberi and Khaishi blocked the road in order to prevent investigative activities to be carried out, damaged the automobile of the Investigation Service by using stones and sticks and caused threat to life and health of the employees of the Service.
At this stage, investigative activities are being carried out in 39 timber enterprises, also additionally 20 timber enterprises were detected, working without registration. Wood materials of tens of cubic meters were seized. Moreover, in order to check the legality of timber materials sellers, representatives of the Investigation and Revenue Services are carrying out the inventory in more than 150 timber-selling objects at the markets of the cities of Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi.
Investigation is underway under the articles 210, 192, 2871 and 303 of the Criminal Code of Georgia.
Lastly, Investigation Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia will use all legal tools yet again too and will fulfil all the legal duties, it will detect and supress the facts of illegal timber extraction and selling. All persons involved in the mentioned activities or covering up this kind of crime will be punished in accordance with the law.
