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Maker of Jeff Bezos’s yacht fined for using Myanmar ‘blood timber’

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Dutch prosecutors have fined the makers of Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos’s superyacht for its use of dubious Myanmar teak, in the latest instance of authorities cracking down on “blood timber” from the Southeast Asian country. Yacht builder Oceanco will pay a 150,000 euro ($159,000) fine under a settlement reached with the Dutch Public Prosecution Service on Nov. 26 for failing to investigate the source of the wood used on the Koru, Bezos’s 417 feet (127-meter) superyacht.  Mongabay previously reported that Myanmar or Burmese teak is in high demand for luxury yachts because of its superior quality and water resistance. However, the EU has imposed sanctions against the so-called “blood teak” or “blood timber” since its trade, mostly illegal, reportedly funds Myanmar’s military junta. The Koru case comes as a U.K. court fined another luxury yacht maker, Sunseeker, for using Burmese teak. “Finally, the law is being implemented and, once again, this is a warning to those who think they can continue to buy blood teak from Myanmar without consequences,” Faith Doherty, forests campaign leader at the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency, said in a statement. Dutch prosecutors found Oceanco had used Myanmar teak for furniture and wood furnishings on the $500 million Koru. While it had purchased the teak from a Turkish company, Oceanco was held liable since it had brought the wood into the EU market without investigating its origin. This violated the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR), which came into effect in 2013. The EUTR will be replaced by the…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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