What does a $200,000 fine for illegal teak on luxury yachts say about the true cost of forest crime? When penalties are small, companies can absorb them as a cost of doing business, with little consequence for their overall profit margins. Forest crimes are perceived as low-risk, high-reward offences, which ultimately reflects a wider problem […]
Environmental crime is often regarded as a series of disparate issues, from wildlife trafficking and illegal logging to waste dumping and illegal fishing. But according to EIA’s latest major report, Crimes that Affect the Environment – STILL a Critical Threat to Our Future, these crimes are increasingly connected, driven by organised criminal networks and fuelling […]
EIA has welcomed the guilty pleas entered by UK luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker International Ltd and its US subsidiary Sunseeker USA Sales for violations of the US Lacey Act linked to the use of illegally sourced teak from Myanmar. The case marks one of the most significant US enforcement actions involving Myanmar teak since the […]
LONDON: The London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) has welcomed the guilty pleas entered by UK luxury yacht manufacturer Sunseeker International Ltd and its US subsidiary Sunseeker USA Sales for violations of the US Lacey Act linked to the use of illegally sourced teak from Myanmar. The case marks one of the most significant US enforcement […]
US federal prosecutors have charged UK-based luxury yacht firm Sunseeker International Ltd and its US subsidiary Sunseeker USA Sales with environmental crimes tied to the use of illegally harvested teak from Myanmar. EIA first exposed Sunseeker’s illegitimate use of Burmese teak in 2018 after our investigations found that teak which had been traded in breach […]
In another major win for Myanmar’s forests, a penalty order of €150,000 has been issued against a Dutch firm for using illicit Myanmar teak on Jeff Bezos’ superyacht Koru. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service (Openbaar Ministerie OM) has confirmed it reached a settlement agreement with a “Dutch yacht builder” — named as Oceanco by Dutch newspaper […]