The EU purchased sanctioned plywood from Russia for €1.5 billion.

The authors claim that seven out of ten of the largest Russian exporters of birch plywood still supply it to the EU. This material is utilized in the production of furniture, flooring, sports equipment, and toys. Among the buyers are suppliers for Poland's largest furniture retail chain, Black Red White, and the leading manufacturer of climbing walls, Walltopia.

Plywood is produced in Russia and Belarus, including using the labor of prisoners, and is then labeled as produced in other countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Turkey.

The largest importers of plywood include Poland, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. Every day, 22 containers of sanctioned goods are imported into the EU.

The investigation notes that even if plywood were not under sanctions, its import would likely still be illegal. The EU prohibits the import of illegally harvested timber, which, according to the authors' estimates, may constitute a significant percentage of what is sold by Russian suppliers.