The OCCRP's 'Clear Cut Crimes'- Exposing Illegal Deforestation In The Carpathians

The Carpathian Mountains are the largest stretch of virgin forest in Europe and a haven for wildlife. ‘Clear Cut Crimes’ is a documentary produced by journalists from the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and RISE Project.

Also referred to as the “lungs of Europe”, sucking in vast quantities of carbon dioxide and turning it into oxygen, the forests are being illegally logged due to high demands of timber from western companies including Austrian firm Holzindustrie Schweighofer.

Companies such as Schweighgofer are turning to gangsters to source the wood.

Watch a clip from the documentary, which exposes illegal deforestation in Romania and Ukraine –a crime that risks both environmental disaster and is worth hundreds of millions of dollars.